Brentwood’s Dan Wagner wins Wrench of the Year Award for Ecogate Project

Brentwood Corp: A Commitment to Quality and Growth

Founded in 1988, Brentwood Corp, a division of Woodcraft Industries, produces quality cabinet doors and components. Operating from a 98,000 square foot facility in Molalla, Oregon, Brentwood manufactures Hardwood and Rigid Thermal Foil (RTF) products, which are sold throughout the Pacific Rim. The corporation remains dedicated to continued growth while maintaining a focus on craftsmanship and quality.

Addressing Dust Extraction Challenges

By 2014, Brentwood's success and growth began to strain their existing dust extraction system. Plant Engineer Dan Wagner explains, "We had looked at addressing our poor dust collection by adding a new dust collector. We estimated the dust collector to cost over $200,000 for the complete installation."

Ecogate's on-site engineering calculations revealed that their intelligent ventilation system would provide excellent suction for all connected machines and accommodate new ones, while reducing Brentwood's electricity bill for dust collection by more than 50%.

Implementing Ecogate's Intelligent Solution

Brentwood's facility has three dust collectors (250 HP, 150 HP, and 100 HP) and currently 101 workstations. A single Ecogate greenBOX MASTER controller would suffice for the entire factory. The greenBOX MASTER also uploads data about each dust collection system and connected workstations to Ecogate's analytics platform, offering valuable insights into factory operations.

Outstanding Results and User-Friendly Systems

The Ecogate system was commissioned in June 2015, and dust extraction improved immediately. Once the analysis was done, Ecogate became the obvious choice. "In our payback analysis, we calculated that we would not only save over $100,000 per year on electricity but also eliminate a $35,000 increase in electrical cost by not running a fourth dust collector," says Dan Wagner.

Brentwood Corp. received a $257,679 incentive from the Oregon Energy Trust, based on the measured kWh savings.

The Ecogate software and systems are very robust and user-friendly, and the equipment is easy to install. - Dan Wagner, Plant Engineer, Brentwood Corp.

The Ecogate system reduced both demand (kW) and electricity use (kWh) by 58% for Brentwood Corp.'s dust collection bill. The chart above displays electricity use over a day for one of Brentwood's three fans, showing a 64% reduction in energy use. This data is accessible to Brentwood Corp. through Ecogate's online analytics platform.

Dan Wagner says, "Ecogate did a great job of introducing the system to us. After commissioning, they've worked with us on monitoring the system performance to make sure that everything was working at top efficiency." Dan really appreciates the Master system's secure remote access, which lets him monitor the system from the comfort of his home or office. "Our overall experience with Ecogate has been very positive," he concludes.

After commissioning, Ecogate have worked with us on monitoring the system performance to make sure that everything was working at top efficiency. - Dan Wagner Plant Engineer, Brentwood Corp.

Recognition for Exceptional Performance

Dan Wagner was awarded the Wrench of the Year award by the Association of Energy Engineers' Columbia River Chapter for his outstanding work and success. The award is given to "personnel working in facility management whose work significantly contributes to energy efficiency improvement during the award year." Congratulations, Dan!

Brentwood Corp. | Woodcraft Industries | Energy Trust of Oregon | Wrench of the Year Award | Energy Trust of Oregon Success Story