100-Year-Old Wisconsin Steel Company Prolongs Life,…

1907 to 2024

Driving along 27^th Street in Milwaukee, you might have passed by the century-old Maynard Steel Casting Company and not even noticed it sitting there along the Kinninnick River next to Forest Home Hills. What you didn’t know about this 20^th Century Wisconsin steel manufacturer is how advanced it is in state-of-the-art 21^st Century technology making castings while looking to be more energy efficient.

21st Century Technology

After a 12-year break from the Focus on Energy Program, Maynard Steel worked with its utility and Focus on Energy partner, We Energies, completing a project in 2023 that will provide more than 16.5 million kilowatt hours and more than 56,000 mmBTU lifetime savings.

What does that mean?

Maynard Steel is providing enough energy savings to power 1,544 homes in Milwaukee for the entire life of the energy-efficient upgrades made in 2023.

What did Maynard Steel do?

Changed the lights.

A Brighter Foundry

Three substantial lighting projects completed in 2023 created the energy savings and financial savings for Maynard Steel. Their Focus on Energy Advisor Steve Lewallen worked with the Maynard Steel to restart the company’s energy efficiency work after the 12-year hiatus. Updating existing lighting systems is a perfect place to start.

“Our annual spend on energy is very high,” Wabiszewski said. “Even a small reduction equates to many dollars (saved). We strive to reduce waste while maximizing production.”

Comprehensive Lighting Solutions from Focus on Energy helped Maynard Steel determine problem areas that could benefit from fixture and retrofit upgrades. Integrated control systems offered even more savings by automatically reducing light usage in parts of the foundry when employees weren’t working in those areas.

“The illumination has dramatically changed,” Wabiszewski said. “The (worker) attitude improved. Productivity improved and the safety director is ecstatic over the safety benefits.”

Focus on Energy provided $64,000 in rebates for this project. And Maynard Steel is already looking at other energy-efficient projects including air handling equipment upgrades and quench tank water savings.

“The Focus on Energy Advisor was instrumental in pushing us and we are grateful for this,” Wabiszewski said. “Focus on Energy can guide and lead customers to projects we would have never explored.”