Great Lakes Veneer Accelerates Energy Projects Through FOCUS ON ENERGY®

When faced with needing to upgrade an aging steam kiln, they faced a familiar challenge. Like many manufacturers, Great Lakes Veneer had to carefully prioritize capital investments, making it difficult to move forward with every improvement project as quickly as they wanted.

Great Lakes Veneer reached out to their long-time Energy Advisor, Tim Dantoin, early in the planning process. Together, they identified a package of support that included 0% financing and an incentive for the high-efficiency mini kilns.  In addition to saving energy, the mini kilns allowed for higher production throughput and increased product capacity. The financial support helped the company move forward with the project sooner than they otherwise could have.

“Using Focus on Energy incentives has allowed our company to do more projects in a quicker time frame than what would otherwise be possible. Our thought process during the engineering phase is more on energy savings. We can engineer differently now knowing that incentives are available.” 
— Dave U’Ren, Engineering & Maintenance Director

According to Dantoin, Great Lakes Veneer’s proactive approach makes the partnership especially effective.

“Great Lakes Veneer took the right steps to maximize Focus on Energy opportunities by getting involved early. Dave contacts me with great ideas and we work together to assess the energy implications and possible Focus support.” 
— Tim Dantoin, Energy Advisor

Once the project was approved, Great Lakes Veneer found the financing process to be straightforward, allowing the team to stay focused on implementing the project.

“The financing process was fairly painless. Once the financing was in place, it was super easy to work with from a payment standpoint.” 
— Dave U’Ren 

Today, the new mini kilns have improved the company’s manufacturing process by increasing production capacity and supporting more efficient operations. The project demonstrates how combining incentives with financing can help manufacturers invest in equipment that strengthens both productivity and energy performance.

“It increased our production capacity significantly.” 
— Dave U’Ren

For Great Lakes Veneer, the value of Focus on Energy extends beyond a single project. With ongoing support from their Energy Advisor and a variety of financial tools, Great Lakes Veneer is well equipped to evaluate future investments.  Focus on Energy works side by side with the engineering team, incorporating energy efficiency into project planning, accelerating improvements supporting long-term growth.