PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Drake Rice, Director of Member Services, 405/340-5047
The Charles Machine Works, Inc. Recognized for Smart Energy Leadership Receives OMPA DEEP Rebate Check for $121,968.24
Garners Environmental Stewardship Award from Orion Energy Systems
PERRY, OKLAHOMA – On December 5th, Perry Mayor Chuck Hall, Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of Energy Mr. James Albert, Charles Lamb, Chair of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) Board of Directors, and Cindy L. Holman, OMPA General Manager, presented a $121,968.24 rebate check from OMPA’s Demand and Energy Efficiency Program (DEEP) to Edwin Malzahn, President and Founder of The Charles Machine Works, Inc., and Tiffany Sewell-Howard, CEO of The Charles Machine Works Inc., on behalf of the OMPA Board of Directors.
The check presented to The Charles Machine Works, Inc. (CMW) was an investment in an upgrade of the company’s lighting system at its manufacturing facility located at 1959 West Fir Avenue in Perry, Oklahoma. The new lighting system is manufactured by Orion Energy Systems, a power technology enterprise, with its world headquarters in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Orion Founder and CEO Neal Verfuerth presented CMW with his company’s Environmental Stewardship Award “for extreme energy savings achieved and environmental impacts radically reduced.”
The Honorable Governor Mary Fallin commented on the check presentation to The Charles Machine Works, “OMPA’s Demand and Energy Efficiency Program is a great example of an effort to help incentivize consumers to harness the potential of energy efficiency. Being energy efficient isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart and cost effective thing to do. I commend Charles Machine Works for their willingness to make energy improvements. Energy efficiency can help keep our electric system reliable, consumer rates low, and reduce the need for new power plants. This is exactly the kind of practical application envisioned in the Oklahoma First Energy Plan.”
The Charles Machine Works is an industry leader in the manufacture and production of premium underground construction equipment, electronic guidance and utility locating tools. Based in Perry, Oklahoma with established dealer locations throughout the world, CMW is the parent company for the following brands: Ditch Witch®, HammerHead®, Radius Professional HDD ®, DW/TXS, and Subsite®. To learn more about CMW brands, visit www.ditchwitch.com; www.hammertrenchesless.com; www.radiusHDD.com; http://dwtxs.com/English/zjl.asp; and www.subsite.com.
CMW is one of the largest employers in Oklahoma. The company has conducted operations in Perry, Oklahoma since it was established in 1902 with approximately 1,100 employees at its manufacturing facility. Others attending the event were included Rick Johnson, COO, and Rich Polwort, CMW Facilities Engineer; Vicki Hagerman, City of Perry’s Public Works Director/Energy Coordinator; Kevin Crawford, Orion Energy Systems Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs; Eddie McAninch, Business Development for Orion Southwest; Drake N. Rice, OMPA Director of Member Services; and Tom Willis, OMPA Member Services Energy Engineer.
“CMW is known worldwide for its Ditch Witch brand. Now, it’s known for being a leader in smart energy management in its hometown and throughout Oklahoma. The City of Perry is also actively involved in promoting energy conservation,” said OMPA General Manager Cindy Holman. CMW is the first commercial/industrial business in Perry to receive a DEEP rebate check – the largest rebate check issued to date.
“The project involved the replacement of 2,200 lighting fixtures with high-performance energy efficient fixtures that reduced CMW’s electric energy demand by an estimated 831 kW, saving 3.6 million kWh of energy,” said Willis. “This project allows the company to improve their peak demand and energy loads from the City of Perry,” he added.
DEEP assists OMPA’s 39 member cities with their qualified customers to reduce their electric service energy demands and costs. This program provides rebates to commercial and industrial customers that implement retrofits that reduce their demand at peak times. These projects include lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, commercial food service equipment, pumps and motors. The reduction of these demands help keep energy rates as low as possible and delays the need to add additional OMPA generation capacity to the system.
For additional information on Orion Energy Systems and Energy Reduction projects, please contact Eddie McAninch, Business Development for Orion Southwest, at emcaninch@oessw.com.
The funds available for approved projects will be determined by the OMPA Board of Directors. Funds available for an individual project will be determined through submission of detailed project plans. For more information on DEEP, visit the OMPA website at www.ompa.com or contact OMPA Member Services Energy Engineer Tom Willis at twillis@ompa.com.
OMPA is a state governmental agency created by the legislature to serve cities and towns that own and operate their electrical distribution systems and is governed by the members. The Authority presently serves 39 municipally-owned electric systems in Oklahoma. This year marks a milestone for the consumer-owned public power entity – its 30th anniversary.
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