Carolina Companies Increase Production & Reduce Costs; Duke Power Names Power Partner Award Winners

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Anyone who ever took an economics class could tell you what it takes for a successful business:  increase production while saving money. Throw in excellent customer service and you’ve got a winner. That’s what the 2005 Duke Power Partner Award winners did. 

These companies met production goals while saving money thanks to innovative use of energy and electricity solutions. They are committed to quality, progress and excellent customer satisfaction.

Created in 1993, the Duke Power Partner Awards recognizes Duke Power customers who share Duke Power’s commitment to excellence and implementation of strategic energy solutions.

Some 75 business and industrial customers, organizations and trade allies have been recognized since 1993. 

The 2005 Power Partners are:

Centennial American Properties
The partnership with Centennial American Properties is a success story about a team of professionals getting involved and learning how a partnership can create a win-win situation for each organization. Working together, a fast-track solution to install outdoor lighting brought the partners together to find the most cost-effective solution for both Duke Power and Centennial American Properties.

Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company
An atmosphere of openness and honesty between the partners has helped to increase productivity and customer satisfaction at Hickory Springs Metal Plant, Spring Plant and HS Wire Technology. Duke Power has worked with Hickory Springs since 1996 to resolve production issues by offering innovative solutions such as installing electric ovens to increase profitability.

LINPAC Paper
A developer and producer of plastics and paper-based products and solutions, LINPAC Paper operates a paper mill in Cowpens, S.C. The mill operates three shifts a day, employees 95 people and recycles old corrugated containers and mixed papers to produce both corrugating medium and linerboard.

Recent plant expansion projects created a production bottleneck by placing a demand on the existing gas boiler which was beyond its capacity. The partners worked together to install an electrode boiler to increase steam production, reduce total energy costs, provide a backup for the gas boiler and provide another option on energy choices.

LouisianaPacific
Louisiana Pacific, a premier supplier of commodity and specialty building products, worked closely with Duke Power and Advanced Energy to evaluate electro-technologies to increase production and to reduce costs.

By installing an electric infrared oven, Louisiana Pacific was able to meet production goals while maintaining high product quality and lower operating costs. 

Tyco Healthcare-Kendall
Tyco Healthcare, the world’s second largest manufacturer and distributor of medical devices and disposable medical products, has two manufacturing facilities in South Carolina:  Seneca and Greenwood.

The partners worked together to assess energy issues which resulted in the installation of a high resistance grounding system and energizing a 3,000-kilowatt electric boiler that provides annual fuel savings for Tyco. Additionally, both companies worked together to secure a plant expansion in Greenwood which is expected to result in the addition of 150 jobs for Upstate South Carolina.

Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity and value-added products and services to more than 2 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,900 megawatts. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at: http://www.dukepower.com.

Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in the Americas. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com.

Contact:	Rose Cummings
Phone:	704/382-6681
24-Hour Phone:	704/382-8333
e-mail:	rbcummin@duke-energy.com