Wilmington Fibre Reduces Energy Costs

Wilmington Fibre was founded in 1904 as a non-metallic fabricator. A pioneer in the field of industrial laminates, the company established itself as craftsmen of vulcanized fiber. Through years of experience Wilmington Fibre has become one of the leading fabricators of this versatile material. With the advent of modern engineering plastics the company expanded its craftsmanship in machining, stamping, fabricating, and tooling, to accommodate the needs of the ever-growing plastics market. In addition, Wilmington Fibre's comprehensive range of fabricating extends to a variety of insulating papers, rubbers and even some metals. Through commitment to their craft Wilmington Fibre has established an outstanding reputation for quality, service, and competitiveness.

According to Vice President of Operations Dave Celli, Wilmington Fibre's long-time commitment to maintaining their capital equipment is paying dividends now. The trade-off, however, is that the aging equipment requires plenty of maintenance. The oldest machine, a shear, dates back to 1919, and when it breaks, company workers make the parts to fix it. Sometimes, though, even with the best maintenance, equipment needs to be replaced, as was the case with an old air compressor.

Utilizing resource partners at the University of Delaware, DEMEP, part of the MEP National Network™, provided an energy audit that determined the compressor was using far more energy than necessary, and that a new one would result in significant energy savings. To support this capital upgrade, DEMEP guided Wilmington Fibre to energy reduction grants offered by the state to help with the procurement of a new energy efficient model.