Markets

For the Forest Products Industry

The forest products industry is on the cutting edge of environmental sustainability in the U.S. In fact, cellulosic ethanol made from hemicellulose, a manufacturing by-product of the pulp and paper industry, is being touted as one of the country's richest possible sources of biofuel.

While major manufacturers are partnering with universities and engineering firms to make this technology practical, individual lumber and pulp and paper mills are being made greener and more energy-efficient with Eaton products and system design expertise.

For instance, a pulp and paper mill built in the 1960s by a major forest product company in the northwestern U.S. was recently able to forestall the building of an entire substation thanks to a new power management system from Eaton. The system, which encompassed a comprehensive and coordinated array of Power Xpert® metering and protective devices, monitoring and communications equipment, and software, identified several areas in the plant's electrical distribution that had been over-designed and could handle additional power capacity.

Because the new power management system also served to facilitate more efficient distribution of the mill's power load, plans to add a new and expensive substation were scrapped. In addition to these cost savings, the new system yielded a long list of other energy- and cost-saving benefits, including improved system reliability, the implementation of a predictive maintenance program, the ability to negotiate for better electrical rates, and more.

To learn how Power Xpert and other products and services from Eaton can make your mill greener, more energy-efficient and ultimately more profitable, we invite you to contact Eaton Canada.