Penda Corp Recognized for Work to Increase Energy Efficiency

Manufacturer Earns Award from Focus on Energy

Portage, Wis. – Penda Corp’s long-standing commitment to continuous improvement in energy savings has earned the manufacturing company an Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from FOCUS ON ENERGY®.

The award was given to Penda executives during an awards presentation Thursday afternoon at their Portage facility.

“Many customers verbally express a desire to be more efficient,” Alliant Energy account rep Mary Eiler Radl said during the presentation. “But it take times, sometimes a lot of time, to identify projects, to analyze them, to get management commitment to invest in these improvements. And I can say, beyond any doubt, that Penda Corp’s commitment to energy efficiency and process improvements far exceeds what I see in most other businesses.”

Penda Corp, a long-time industry leader in the manufacturing of thermoformed plastic products, has collaborated with Focus on Energy and its utility, Alliant Energy, on many energy efficiency projects since 2012, but Penda’s participation has ramped up in recent years. Between 2012 and 2017, the company worked with Alliant Energy and Focus on Energy on 14 projects, then did 14 more projects in 2018 alone. 

Energy Advisor with Focus on Energy, Bill Lumsden, credits the increasing number of projects on Penda Corp joining Focus on Energy’s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program, which includes regular meetings with Lumsden, Radl and others to discuss energy performance from each previous month. 
“We have a team effort that’s been important to our success,” Lumsden said. “We have a continuous stream of project ideas moving forward. We work together to access those projects, and then we make sure we move systematically from inception all the way through implementation.”

Through the first five-plus months of 2019, Penda Corp has completed or is working on 18 more projects with Focus on Energy.

“Our energy team meetings are interesting and productive and fun,” Radl said. “And I look forward to what’s next.”

“What impresses me most here today is it takes a whole host of people to get stuff like this done,” said Jolene Sheil, Director of Focus on Energy at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, before presenting the plaque to Penda executives. “It’s the utilities that are a valued partner. It’s all the people who work here every single day. And then it’s the Focus [on Energy] people that come in and provide the expertise to help you move that project along where it otherwise would not have.”

Penda Corp Manufacturing Engineer Dave DeBolt and VP of Operations Mike Johnson accepted the award and thanked Penda Corp President David Kruger for his support through all the energy efficiency improvements. Johnson then thanked a large group of employees who gathered for a celebration of the award.

“It’s not just Mike and Dave – it’s everybody in this plant that’s doing what they need to do; doing the right things for the right reasons,” Johnson told the group. “And that’s really what it’s about, and that’s how we got to where we’re at now.”

Focus on Energy is honoring 18 Wisconsin businesses and groups with a 2019 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award, which recognizes commitment to energy efficiency.

The Focus on Energy program is funded by 107 Wisconsin utilities, and customers of those utilities are eligible for the energy expertise and financial incentives Focus on Energy offers. A recent evaluation found every $1 invested in Focus on Energy generates more than $5 in benefits for Wisconsin, including economic benefits, reduced pollution and reduced energy costs.

About Focus on Energy
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities' statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state's investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin's growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com