On April 7, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized four Pennsylvania manufacturing plants owned by Curtiss-Wright, General Dynamics, Land O’Lakes, and Mack Trucks for their leadership in energy management by earning certification to Superior Energy Performance® (SEPTM). The SEP program requires organizations to meet the global standard for energy management systems, ISO 50001, and improve energy performance over a sustained period. DOE highlighted this recognition at the Strategic Energy Management Showcase hosted by the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), and also recognized the vision and effort of the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in advancing energy savings and security. Through these leaders and accomplishments, Pennsylvania now stands as the state with the most industrial plants in the nation to earn certification to SEP.

“Pennsylvania shows us how a strong state program can support forward-thinking manufacturing plants in achieving exceptional results,” said Mark Johnson, Director of DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. “Not only have these plants captured durable savings,” he added, “their certification to Superior Energy Performance tells us they’ve adopted systems and practices that will continue to expand those savings for decades to come.”

The four Pennsylvania manufacturing plants recognized for achieving SEP certification were:

  • Curtiss-Wright, Electro-Mechanical Division (EMD) (Cheswick, PA)
  • General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Scranton Operations Plant (Scranton, PA)
  • Land O’ Lakes Inc., Land O’ Lakes – Carlisle (Carlisle, PA)
  • Mack Trucks, Inc., Macungie Cab & Vehicle Assembly Plant (Macungie, PA) 

DOE also recognized MedImmune in neighboring Maryland, whose Gaithersburg campus became the first biotech facility in the US to earn SEP certification and two manufacturers, Gerdau (Sayreville, New Jersey facility) and SKF USA Inc. (Hanover, PA, corporate) that earned ISO 50001 certification.

SEP certifies industrial facilities that demonstrate energy management excellence and sustained energy savings. The certification program requires facilities to meet the ISO 50001 energy management standard and verify the savings they achieve. SEP gives companies the framework, rigor, and tools to continuously improve their energy performance and accurately measure their achievements. SEP is an ANSI/ANAB accredited certification program administered by the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. To achieve SEP certification, teams from various areas of each plant implemented an energy management system and worked together to reduce energy use. The resulting improvements were verified by third-party auditors. As part of the process, several facilities were provided training and expertise by PennTAP, a technical outreach arm of Penn State, to help the teams use ISO 50001 and DOE resources to improve and measure performance. Learn more about SEP.

“These four plants are leading the way for Pennsylvania industry,” said Hayley Book, Deputy Policy Director at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. “By conserving energy resources and cutting emissions, they are boosting productivity and competitiveness—creating a healthy, vibrant manufacturing sector that generates good jobs and helps meet state energy and environmental goals. We are excited to be leading the country in SEP certifications and give credit to the leadership and vision of our industrial partners.”