Energy Efficiency Takes Center Stage in Marketing Campaigns.(Milacron Inc.)(Brief Article)

CINCINNATI--Milacron Inc., a manufacturer of equipment for the plastics processing and metalworking industries, is betting that the country's current "energy crisis" will be good for sales of its energy-efficient equipment and that conservation will strike a chord with manufacturing executives--a trend that is likely to catch on quickly among a host of manufacturers of other types of energy-consuming equipment as well.

The company plans not simply to market its all-electric injection molding machines by conventional means; it plans to emphasize the energy attributes of the products by opening "the world's first Energy Resource Center for plastics injection molding."

The Energy Resource Center will be outfitted with a wide range of all-electric molding machines capable of producing small parts to 5-gallon buckets and PET pre-forms (the first step in making a clear soda/water bottle). High-efficiency auxiliary equipment will aid in demonstrating the total reductions obtainable with the process, while an array of test/measurement systems will be available to validate results. The center will also provide detailed financial justifications and aid in arranging total plant changeovers through cooperative ventures with utilities and energy aggregators.

The company believes that all-electric injection molding machines, which it says are two to four times more energy-efficient than conventional machines, could wring 8.9 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity from the process used to make millions of everyday plastic products.

"Some of the largest global companies have already mandated across-the-board energy reductions in their operations because they realize the cost ...