Company ProfileIndependent Printing of Ashland, OR is a full service printing shop that has been in business since 1910 and is now in the 4th generation of family ownership and management. They feature multi-color offset litho, aqueous coating, die-cutting, embossing, hang tags, and saddle stitching. They serve local and national accounts from their two regional offices located in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern Oregon.OverviewIndependent Printing in Ashland, OR had been running a 1987 vintage, 30 HP Matei rotary vane compressor, a 60 gallon air receiver and a deliquescent air dryer. We sold them a Zeks non-cycling dryer in 2009.Steve Flatley, maintenance manager, was interested in improving the efficiency of their air system but wanted some type of financial incentive to do so. A HOBO logger was installed that monitored the compressor for one week. The data showed the existing compressor was averaging around 40 CFM when it was rated for 104 CFM. They run a 24 hour operation so there were obvious savings. It ran 50% loaded for approximately 18 hours a day.At the time, the City of Ashland did not offer any industrial incentives for this type of project so we worked with Cascade Energy to explore what options might be available for the customer. The result of our combined efforts was Independent Printing being the first industrial incentive project through the City of Ashland.Independent Printing chose to proceed with the compressor upgrade to increase part load efficiency of the total system. The new compressor has been running for several months and the customer is very pleased with the entire project.BenefitsEnergy Savings of over 62,500 kWh annuallyElectrical cost savings of $3,800 annuallySimple payback of 1.9 yearsReliable, clean compressed airIncentivesIncentives provided by The City of Ashland provided the motivation the customer needed to proceed. Incentives provided approximately 50% of the implementation costs which reduced the simple payback to 1.9 years.