Emerson today announced that its Appleton Group
iron casting facility has received a 2025 Energy Excellence Award from Focus on Energy®. The
award recognizes companies in Wisconsin that go above and beyond basic energy efficiency
solutions, both within their own organizations and those they support. As one of 11 recipients, the
South Milwaukee foundry proves how energy-efficient industrial facilities can reduce costs,
contribute to a healthier environment and strengthen local economies.
“Emerson’s foundry shows that even energy-intensive operations can be leaders in energy
efficiency,” said Erin Soman, managing director of Focus on Energy. “This award isn’t just about
saving energy – it’s about people coming together to think differently about how we use energy and
what that means for Wisconsin’s future.”
Focus on Energy is the statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy program for businesses
and residents in Wisconsin. It offers a range of rebates and incentives for energy-saving
technologies as well as services that help organizations reduce energy use and costs.
The Appleton foundry, which manufactures electrical fittings, enclosures and other cast products
for electrical infrastructure, has worked with the Focus on Energy initiative since 2017. In that time,
the partnership has made it possible for the foundry to identify, evaluate, design and implement
many successful energy efficiency and utility cost-savings projects.
These updates include new controls on its makeup air units, the replacement of channel furnaces
with cordless induction melting furnaces and the replacement of over 800 fluorescent lights with
Appleton industrial LED fixtures. Combined, the energy improvements save the facility over 10,000
megawatt-hours (MWh), 65,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) and $1 million in energy costs
annually. The team also identified nearly $350,000 in energy-related incentives throughout this
period.
The foundry team’s commitment to optimizing energy efficiency has cut the facility’s total energy
consumption and emissions by about a third since 2017, drastically reducing its own emissions and
1/2
operating expenses. These reductions are especially significant given that the century-old foundry
had been among the largest energy-consuming facilities across all of Emerson.
“The Energy Efficiency Excellence award highlights the dedication of our team to improve our own
environmental impact, support our cost reductions in Wisconsin’s energy system and work with
external organizations to move toward a more sustainable future,” said John Schuster, plant
manager at Emerson’s discrete automation business. “What we’ve achieved in South Milwaukee is
a success story for the Emerson portfolio, as well as for the castings industry overall. It’s an honor
to be acknowledged in this way.”
Left to right: Doug Presny, CleanTech Partners; Joe Pater, Wisconsin Public Service Commission;
Paul Kling, Focus on Energy; John Schuster, Emerson; Bob Axtell, Emerson; Bill Bolhuis, Franklin
Energy; Chris Larson, Chris Jansen, Wisconsin State Senator, District 7; Jim Garbowski, WEC
Energy Group. (Courtesy of Emerson)
For more information about Appleton electrical solutions from Emerson, please visit
https://www.appleton.emerson.com/en-us
https://www.emerson.com/en-us/news/2025/06-emerson-receives-award-for-excellence-in-energyefficiency-at-milwaukee-facility
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