In my four years at the Siemens Electrical Products (EP) facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, I’ve seen a lot of innovation in the name of efficiency and sustainability.
Nickyle MiltonOur most recent achievement—our new electric paint line—is one of our most impressive. Changing how we paint electrical products might not sound all that amazing, but the decarbonization results were game-changing, and the technology we brought on-line is now a model for sustainability innovation in any similar industry.
Siemens is on a path to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint across all our operations by 2030, and we are committed to decarbonizing our all facilities. Thus, efficiency and sustainability are key priorities at Grand Prairie. Operated by Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI), this 225,000-square-foot factory produces low-voltage power equipment, providing critical technologies for the global construction and industrial markets.
Plant managers conducted an emissions study at Grand Prairie in 2018 and found that the paint line emitted 70 to 80 percent of the carbon released from our factory. The line was also more than 30 years old. The need for an upgrade was obvious.
Paint lines are automated systems where cold-rolled steel parts in our product are treated, powder coated then cured in various stages. They typically require a significant amount of natural gas to operate.
At Grand Prairie, we constructed a new, all-electric paint line that has reduced the facility’s gas consumption by over 90 percent. We build this paint line over a two-year period starting in late 2020 with no disruption to operations.
Grand Prairie is one of the first manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to feature an all-electric paint line and can now serve as a model for partners and customers.
How to Move From Gas to Electric
I was part of a team of three factory managers tasked with creating the all-electric paint line. When we put our heads together, we realized that there were two crucial variables in the plan.
Expand footprint—or demo and build? First, we had to determine if we should expand our existing footprint to house the new system or if we should remove the old system and build new. Given the importance of the Grand Prairie factory to Siemens’ operations, we decided to expand the facility. If we had demolished and replaced our established paint system, then that would have required the factory to outsource all painted parts for over a year. Making the decision to expand the facility footprint mitigated the risk and cost associated with a year-long outsourcing of painted parts, a critical factor for quality control, shipping costs, and production scheduling. With the old paint line now in the final stages of decommissioning, the newly opened space instantly increases plant capacity.
Meeting power demand: Second, we had to work out a coordination plan with the local utility company, Oncor, to meet the updated facility load requirements. We knew that shifting to electric would significantly increase our power usage. As it turned out, we’re using less power than we predicted. But sorting out power demand was crucial to ensuring that the new paint line could operate efficiently and be integrated seamlessly.
Performance Capabilities Designed to be Replicated
To assess performance of the new electric paint line, factory managers and I focused on measuring peak electrical capacity at 15-minute intervals. The maximum electrical load was met immediately, indicating the real efficiency of the new system. This is all about managing demand. We want to continuously improve the system so that the demand factor is always coming lower. We’re doing this through programming, using the PLC to lower the peak of what we call the “ramp curve”—the max electricity demand at start-up.
The results of the operative electric paint line already include reductions in the overall net-carbon emissions by an estimated 1,100 metric tons, or approximately 80 percent of Grand Prairie’s total production-related natural-gas-based CO2 emissions, making the paint line a sustainability showcase for industrial and critical-infrastructure customers.
We made sure that every aspect of the paint line maximized energy efficiency, and we anticipate significant results. In addition to a substantial decrease in natural gas consumption, we’re incorporating SMART controls for LED lighting that we anticipate will reduce our energy usage further by 5 percent.
The new system’s electrical-distribution and -control equipment has also captured energy-usage data from initial startup through to full production. This information will help fine-tune future consumption estimates for similar projects at Siemens Electrical Products facilities across the U.S. While electricity consumption has increased significantly (which is offset by Renewable Energy Credits), natural gas usage—the facility’s primary source of CO2 emissions—has been nearly eliminated.
In addition to the paint-line operations, other aspects of the process such as powder chemistry, heat reuse, and material characteristics are being trialed for improved efficiency. Such scalable innovation has profound implications for Siemens’ progress to achieve sustainability measures at Grand Prairie and at company facilities nationwide, because the electrified powder-paint system is now the blueprint for all s Siemens facilities in the U.S.
Acting with Speed, at Scale
The Department of Energy and Siemens globally classify the Grand Prairie facility as a “sustainability lighthouse,” as it serves as a model for sustainability for other organizations. Siemens is also a part of the DoE’s Better Buildings Challenge, and we have a real commitment to that partnership. What we’re doing at Grand Prairie is about best practices, about transparency of capability, and knowledge sharing.
In everything we do at Siemens, we’re trying to increase the speed and scale for applying technologies that will achieve decarbonization.
The paint line demonstrates that we can walk the walk on sustainability as we pursue our 2030 goal. Things like the paint line are a part of achieving major goals ahead of time—and that’s all about going fast and going big.
Nickyle Milton is a Siemens Smart Infrastructure EP Project Manager. Visit https://www.siemens.com.
