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MOLESWORTH FARM SUPPLY LTD. |
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Molesworth Farm Supply Limited is a livestock feed manufacturing facility, located in the heart of dairy and hog country at the border of Perth and Huron Counties in southwestern Ontario. Thirty years ago, Molesworth was a small and simple gristmill operation. Today, Molesworth uses researched and high-tech processes to blend and process grain for commercial livestock production. As Molesworth grew, management knew that the company was not using electricity as effectively as it could. The 20 motors used to grind, mix and transfer equipment for feed had a sub-standard power factor of 74 per cent to 77 per cent, whereas 90 per cent is considered the acceptable industry target. For years, management tried to resolve the problem on its own without success. In 2002, Molesworth decided to tackle the problem head-on and hire a professional energy auditor. “Feed manufacturing is a very low margin business. We knew every month when we received our electricity bill that we were paying a power factor penalty. We realized that in order to compete with multi-nationals, we needed to better manage our electricity costs,” said Ron Coghlin, President of Molesworth. The energy audit recommended installing a series of capacitors on the company’s major electric motors. The installation cost $27,000 and took one month to complete. The audit projected that Molesworth would recover the cost of the installation within 36 months. Upon completion of the project, Molesworth’s power factor jumped immediately to between 93 per cent and 95 per cent. Molesworth was able to recover the costs of the capacitors within 15 months – less than half the amount of time projected by the audit. “By taking control of our power factor, we have been able to pass on savings to farmers and put more money back into our company. Since 2002, Molesworth’s volume has doubled and more effi cient electricity usage has been a contributing factor to our success,” said Coghlin. |
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