Element TV Company Retains Sales and Sees Investment Savings Following SCMEP’s Stormwater Permitting Services

Element TV Company is the only television production facility in the United States. A part of Walmart’s reshoring initiative, the operation opened in Winnsboro, South Carolina, in 2014. Then-Governor Nikki Haley facilitated discussions to establish Element TV Company’s assembly operation in Fairfield County, which had been greatly impacted by previous plant closures.

Since the initial engagement to help establish Element TV’s ISO 9001 Quality Management System in 2015, SCMEP has become the company’s primary resource when outside assistance is needed. In 2021, Element asked SCMEP, part of the MEP National Network™, to perform an energy audit, as their primary customer was requiring the initiation of a sustainability program, at the risk of losing the business.

The energy audit was completed in June of 2021. The report detailed energy usage for HVAC, lighting, assembly lines, fans, air compressors and other (office, canteen, etc.) Potential savings identified in the energy assessment report included: $21,000 by installing energy efficient lighting; and $8,584 annually in sales tax on electricity if a tax exemption certificate was submitted to the utility provider for the manufacturing portion of the energy bill; and savings (unqualified amount) by improving HVAC maintenance.

In 2022, Element asked for SCMEP assistance again, to provide professional engineering services to complete the company’s stormwater permit as a requirement of their sustainability program. Element’s efforts to identify and reduce energy usage secured their place in their customer’s supply chain equating to $800,000,000 in annual sales. As they addressed energy audit findings to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, Element’s sustainability efforts were rewarded with an ongoing vendor relationship with their primary customer. In 2023, Element reported the impact of that revenue had grown to $960,000,000.