Even Toyota's Paint Booths Are Energy Efficient

[Adrienne Selko]

In its continual search for ways to reduce energy, Toyota's paint booths are targets. The company used the continuous improvement process they created years ago - the kaizen-- to demonstrate a 25% reduction in energy costs in their paint booths at a plant in the UK. This translated into a 4% saving of the site's total energy consumption.

And if that's not enough, the ROI will come about in less than two years.

The company partnered with Honeywell which was able to optimize the plants' air supply units and deliver greater energy-efficient temperature and humidity control within the paint finishing spray booths.

By 2010 Toyota will use this solution in three of its European assembly plants.

Honeywell says Toyota is leading the charge and that these plants are the 'first application of its type anywhere in the world.'

Energy efficiency is a key strategy throughout Toyota. Earlier this year, the US EPA awarded Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), with a 2009 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency and management.

Energy improvements at TEMA's manufacturing facilities include:

· Reducing total energy use by 27% per vehicle produced since FY2002

· Reducing water usage by 65 million gallons annually, the equivalent of 3,000 homes

· Reducing CO2 emissions by 750 metric tons, the equivalent of 54 homes by installing high pressure water systems in the Paint Shop.

Eight of TEMA's U.S. manufacturing plants have earned Energy Star Plant Awards. Energy improvements at these facilities have saved more than $600,000 annually and reduced CO2 emission by almost 12,000 metric tons.