With energy costs rising, many manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce their electricity consumption to both cut costs and improve their environmental impact. Mohawk Fine Papers, a premium paper producer, plans to use an asset management solution to help it better manage is energy use.

Mohawk, based in Cohoes, N.Y., manufactures premium papers for large corporations and other organizations, and operates three mills in the U.S. The company's customers are increasingly environmentally conscious, and look to Mohawk to manufacture its products in the most eco-friendly way possible.

Mohawk turned to Infor's enterprise asset management (EAM) solution to help reduce energy consumption on the factory floor while cutting costs.

Mohawk had been using an EAM solution from another vendor, but the system was more than a decade old. "We simply outgrew the product," says Paul Stamas, vice president of IT at Mohawk.

Infor recently launched its Going Green initiative to help customers implement sustainability programs using EAM, supply chain management and product lifecycle management software. As part of this initiative, the company developed a "Sustainability Edition" of its EAM product that can track energy consumption of individual assets.

Mohawk had previously deployed Infor's ERP BPCS and SCM Transportation Management software to provide real-time visibility into its supply chain, and chose the Infor solution because of its easy integration and "green" capabilities.

The Web-based EAM solution is integrated with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database software, MS Excel, Office Project Server 2007 and other Microsoft tools. The solution will provide visibility into equipment life cycles, so that the company can be more proactive in performing preventative and predictive maintenance. Mohawk will be able to add work instructions to the system as video files, giving maintenance staff access to all preventative maintenance information. The company will also be able to see which equipment is using the most energy.

The solution, being installed this year, will help the company reduce energy consumption by 5% to 10% annually, and save hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as reduce carbon emissions.

"To us, the true definition of sustainability today is where environmental performance equals financial performance," says Joe O'Connor, senior vice president of sales, corporate accounts and international sales at Mohawk. 

"We think it will be a very straightforward implementation," says Stamas. "The culture here understands the importance of energy management, and our users are excited about the promise of this product."

The paper industry in the U.S. is under increased pressure to improve its environmental performance, both from the EPA and from large customers looking for more environmentally friendly products. The Infor solution augments Mohawk's existing environmental initiatives. The company is involved in leadership programs with the U.S. EPA (including the Green Power Partnership and the Climate Leaders Program), has developed paper products that have a high percentage of recycle content, and is working with the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure that the virgin fiber it purchases is harvested in a sustainable manner. In 2007, the company received the EPA's Green Power Leadership Award in the category of Green Power Partner of the year.

By reducing energy consumption, the company could eliminate thousands of pounds of carbon emissions per year. Combined with its other environmental activities, Mohawk expects these savings to help it sell more paper to eco-conscious customers.