Steelcase, Kentwood Plant was Awarded for the 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings Competition in the Manufacturing/Industrial Category

steelcase

This year we celebrated 10 years of the Michigan Energy Summit and 10 years of amazing projects and energy efficiency initiatives! Over the past 10 years, we have had a total of 149 winners from 75 different organizations, representing 264 Michigan cities. Since the program's inception in 2014, our competitors have redirected over $100 million of utility costs back to their bottom line and avoided almost 550,000 metric tons of CO2e. Over 272 million square feet of Michigan commercial real estate competed against each other in 2023 in this biggest loser-styled energy competition. The 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings competitors saved $7.4 million in energy costs and avoided 47,178 metric tons of CO2e which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 55,514 acres of US forests in one year! This year we had 11 industry-specific category winners. We are so excited to announce Steelcase, Kentwood Plant, as the 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings winner in the Manufacturing/Industrial category!

 

Steelcase is a leading manufacturer of furniture for offices, hospitals, and classrooms. For over 100 years, Steelcase has prioritized research, innovation, people, and the planet. The organization is dedicated to doing its best work for the places we all share, using the business to help the world work better. Working to design better futures includes projects focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the plant, and adapting to reimagine the facility, machinery, and processes to prepare for an ever-changing future. 

 

The “Kentwood Future State” is one such project. The 788,000-square-foot Steelcase Kentwood Plant is located southeast of Grand Rapids in Kentwood, Michigan. The Kentwood Future State is a collection of projects and initiatives carried out by the plant to improve its operational efficiency. The project name represents the vision of “We are here today, but our desired future state, after all of this work, looks like this.”

 

The projects at this plant included the following: 

  • Press break consolidation ~ 20 MWh EP (Jan 2023-Dec 2023)
  • QA lab HVAC system replacement ~ 34 MWh EP (Nov 2023)
  • Shift consolidation ~ 1,300 MWh (Jan 2023)
  • Shift consolidation ~ 9,612 mmBTU NG (Jan 2023)
  • Core steel future state/blanking and forming equipment ~ 707 MWh EP (July 2021 – Jan 2023)

 

The completed projects improved process and labor efficiency and addressed advances in technology, helping to buffer themselves from supply chain disruptions. Additionally, through these projects, the plant saw a 6.00% reduction in energy consumption. They also received an energy efficiency rebate from Consumers Energy on the blanking and forming equipment project and have applied for a rebate on the HVAC system replacement.

When asked to reflect on the project, Nick Miskosky, Operations Engineering Team Leader at the Kentwood Plant, said, “The most rewarding part of this work has been seeing everything that was proposed as part of our future state plan come to life according to plan. The investment that was put into our manufacturing capabilities instilled pride and ownership within the team.” 

 

Steelcase focuses its work to build a more sustainable and resilient future on three significant areas of impact: 

  • Reduce its carbon footprint by working towards and meeting more ambitious climate goals at a greater global scale than anyone in the industry.
  • Design for circularity by implementing impactful reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing strategies across its entire product design and delivery process.
  • Choose and use materials responsibly by sourcing and selecting materials that are healthier for people and the planet and managing resources such as water and energy wisely.

We were excited to celebrate Steelcase’s accomplishments in energy efficiency at our annual Michigan Energy Summit on May 8, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it was awarded in the Manufacturing/Industrial category! This marks their 3rd award in the competition.