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July 30, 2025
Global Auto Parts Manufacturer Facility in Napoleon, Ohio Reduces Energy Use by 30 Percent with Efficiency Smart.
For Joel Smith, fixing things is second nature. Early on, he worked as a mechanical engineer for a company that recovered nearly all its waste byproducts. Over time, he developed a habit of continuous improvement that has followed him throughout his career.
"When things aren’t working as well as they could, you fix it,” he said. “After a while, it gets to be who you are.”
Now, as a Facility Engineering Manager for global automotive manufacturer Tenneco, Joel is working with staff and leadership to build a culture of continuous improvement that includes finding ways to be more energy efficient. Since 2018, he has worked with Efficiency Smart to reduce energy usage by nearly 30 percent and peak energy demand by 32 percent at Tenneco’s 230,000 square foot plant in Napoleon, Ohio. Leadership is taking notice.
“After completing these projects, we met with some of our corporate team at the Napoleon facility to see if we could replicate our efficiency best practices from Napoleon at other Tenneco sites,” shared Joel.
These results are helping position Tenneco’s Napoleon site as a leader in energy efficiency—within the company and beyond. The results are due in part to a unique collaboration between Tenneco, the City of Napoleon, and Efficiency Smart, a program that helps people use less energy and save money through energy efficiency services.
“It’s been a real partnership to generate these savings,” said Joel. “Efficiency Smart and the City of Napoleon have been instrumental in helping us lead and scale Tenneco’s energy efficiency performance across our other facilities.”
Efficiency Smart works with industrial facilities like Tenneco to help identify and prioritize energy savings opportunities that reduce usage and solve productivity issues like poor visibility, worker safety, equipment downtime, or time-consuming staff procedures.
In one example, Efficiency Smart helped Joel’s team evaluate and purchase a variable frequency drive on a machine that used to have to be manually adjusted every 10 minutes or so.
“Now the equipment adjusts itself,” said Joel. “We’ve more than doubled our productivity and reduced energy consumption. Efficiency Smart helped to quantify and verify the energy savings to support moving the project forward.”
All told, Tenneco has received technical assistance and financial incentives from Efficiency Smart for 11 energy efficiency projects—from lighting to air compressors to controls—culminating in $2.5 million in total cost savings over the lifetime of the new and upgraded equipment.
But Joel and Tenneco aren’t stopping there. Joel works closely with Tenneco’s plant manager, controls engineer, and purchasing agent, as well as the City of Napoleon, to identify opportunities and track trends. And when Joel needs assistance or to bounce energy efficiency ideas off someone, he simply picks up the phone and contacts Efficiency Smart.
“We greatly appreciate having the support of the City of Napoleon and the Efficiency Smart program to achieve our energy efficiency goals,” said Joel. “It helps Tenneco Napoleon remain competitive in a very competitive industry where every dollar counts.”
Napoleon Power and Light is one of the municipal electric utilities that takes advantage of the Efficiency Smart program to lower energy usage for commercial and residential customers.
Since 2011, Efficiency Smart has helped residents and businesses use less energy and save money in more than 60 communities in four states. For more on how your business or community can engage, see:
Or, please contact us to learn more about Municipal Subscriptions.
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