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Briess recognized as an 'Energy Saver'

[01.08.10] Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. has received a U.S. Department of Energy award for achieving significant energy reductions from 2006-2008. The Energy Saver award was presented in November 2009 to CEO Monica Briess during an awards presentation in Washington D.C.

"Briess had undertaken efforts to be an environmentally conscious manufacturer, but we were looking to enhance this program,” said Gordon Lane who joined the company as president/COO in 2002. “We found out about the Save Energy Now initiative in 2006 and it helped us pinpoint additional ways to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions and develop our Green with Briess program. The Save Energy Now initiative is a good fit for Briess, and it's always nice to be recognized for accomplishing a goal. We're very proud to have received this award and will continue to move forward in our conservation initiatives."

The 2006-2008 energy reduction initiative at Briess began with an audit by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate Engineering Group. The audit established a baseline of energy usage at all Briess production facilities, and noted a number of energy efficient practices that Briess was already employing such as computer automated processes and the use of variable frequency controls. Briess further employed thermal imaging to pinpoint areas of electrical and heat loss. Acting upon audit recommendations, Briess reduced energy usage up to 20% in some plant operations from 2006-2008.

In 2009 the U.S. DOE Industrial Technologies Program presented Energy Saver Awards to 140 plants which achieved more than 7.5% total energy savings and reported progress on schedule. Save Energy Now is a national initiative to reduce industrial energy intensity 25% or more in 10 years. As of September 2009, the program had involved 2,400 plants which reduced CO2 emissions 2.3 million metric tons.

Briess is a manufacturer of specialty malt, natural sweeteners and other starch-based ingredients for the brewing and food industries. The company ships to food processors and breweries in all 50 states plus more than 17 foreign countries. It operates two malthouses and several plants in Wisconsin.

Established in Czechoslovakia in 1876, Briess remains one of the few family owned malting companies in the world. It produces more varieties of specialty malts than any malting company in the world, and is North America’s only vertically integrated malting company, making malt extracts from its own malt.