Truck manufacturer poised to save $1m with low carbon tech

Overview

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. They are the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and are at the forefront of the electric and autonomous truck and bus industry. DTNA manufactures, sells, and services commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit, and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. DTNA wants to address their whole sustainability ecosystem for customers and is leading the way in the transition to cleaner operations and products. They are committed to becoming carbon neutral in their vehicle production by 2025.

Initially, DTNA wanted to upgrade and standardize the lighting at their Cleveland plant in North Carolina, and it was important for them to work with a provider that was flexible and could include different types of technologies within the scope of work.

Solution

DTNA was attracted by the Sustainable Energy Service Agreement (SESA) program from Metrus Energy. They wanted a provider that could roll out a program nationwide, so Metrus partnered with Centrica Business Solutions to fulfill the $6.4M contract. Since Metrus is agnostic when it comes to the types and brands of assets they finance, partnering with Centrica Business Solutions meant that DTNA could expand and select the scope of services and equipment that were the best fit for their individual needs.

“Throughout our work together with DTNA and Metrus, Centrica Business Solutions was able to design and implement a project that fit the customers’ most pressing energy infrastructure needs. The project was based on collaboration between all teams and facility personnel,” says Howard Rosen, Account Manager for Centrica Business Solutions.

The project involved upgrades across seven buildings, housing  the company’s manufacturing plants, where Centrica Business Solutions provided engineering, construction, and ongoing measurement and verification services.

Technical overview

Improvements include LED lighting retrofits which are designed to reduce running costs, improve energy efficiency, and help the business be more eco-friendly. The project also delivered chiller and cooling tower replacements and chilled water plant control system upgrades.

Customer results

This initiative is expected to generate roughly $1 million in average annual savings for DTNA over a 12-year SESA term. There will be an annual CO₂ reduction of approximately 6,104 tons resulting from an 8.6 million annual kWh reduction. This will move DTNA closer to their sustainability goals and  even deeper savings are expected with subsequent projects.

The work of Centrica Business Solutions and Metrus was applauded by Erik Johnson, Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant Manager, DTNA: “We appreciate the collaboration in helping our Cleveland facility come one step closer to achieving our CO₂-neutral manufacturing goals.

“Collaborating with outside partners is an important component of our overall strategy and we look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

This was the first project for Metrus’ SESA program and, the hope is that the success in North Carolina will act as a springboard for future projects.

“We look forward to rolling out added comprehensive  retrofits across the DTNA portfolio to lower operating expenses and improve the sustainability of DTNA’s operations,” says Anastasia Beckett, Metrus’ VP of Sales.