GE Capital
Access GE story: Kaiser Aluminum Corp.
Kaiser Aluminum Corp., founded in 1946, is a leading North
American manufacturer of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum
products for aerospace and defense, automotive extrusions and
general industrial applications. It operates 11 focused production
facilities in the U.S. and one in Canada, through which it produces
high-quality rolled, extruded and drawn aluminum products. Kaiser
Aluminum’s focus on manufacturing efficiency and continuous
improvement has positioned it as a low-cost producer of superior,
highly engineered products.
Mining the options
Fast facts
• Kaiser Aluminum Corp.
(NASDAQ: KALU)
• A leading producer of semifabricated specialty aluminum
products, serving customers
worldwide with highly-engineered
solutions for aerospace and highstrength, general engineering and
custom automotive and industrial
applications
• Headquartered in Foothill Ranch,
CA
• Business challenge: Decrease
energy costs, improve productivity, workplace efficiencies and
sustainability of its operations
• Access GE solution: Arranged
audit focused on lighting expenses
and opportunities to capture
energy savings
imagination at work
Kaiser Aluminum prides itself on having
a culture of continuous improvement.
Applying the tools of its Kaiser
Production System — which blends
its experience and capabilities in lean
manufacturing, Six Sigma, application
engineering, metallurgy and process
engineering — the company seeks to
continuously reduce costs and eliminate
waste throughout the value chain.
Energy costs — especially natural gas
and electricity — are a major expense.
Production processes largely use natural
gas, but electricity powers just about
everything else, including lighting in the
company’s facilities.
As a result of Kaiser’s interest, GE
Capital arranged for several services
to identify ways to capture energy
savings throughout its facilities. One
of the primary services provided was
an energy audit of the lighting options
used within its 6.6 million square feet of
production facilities.
Through ecomagination, GE has made
a strong commitment to reducing its
energy footprint. To inspire energy
reduction efforts nationwide, GE
works to raise awareness about
the need for energy efficiency and
demonstrate that it can be achieved
cost-effectively on a large scale.
Ultimately, every organization can be
more energy efficient by making process
improvements and behavior changes
and adopting new technologies.
Forging a plan
Experienced assessment teams spread
out across Kaiser’s offices, production
and maintenance areas ranging from
one of its largest facilities in Newark,
OH with 1.3 million square feet to its
smallest facility in Richland, WA with
45,000 square feet. An extensive
examination of all lighting revealed that
Kaiser was using hundreds of fixtures
of various types and its lighting total
costs were escalating due to the age and
inefficiency of its lighting systems. >>
To see more Capital Perspectives from GE Capital, Americas, click here.
1
GE Capital
The results of the audit identified potential changes at several
facilities that would allow the company to achieve significant
10-year average annual projected savings. In addition to
lowering Kaiser’s utility bills (including the impact of local
utility rebates) and providing substantial cost savings, the new
products would increase the useful life cycle of the lighting
system, significantly reducing replacement costs, enhance
Kaiser’s sustainability profile, and in certain facilities, greatly
improve the workplace environment. Taking into account
the cost of the lighting upgrades, it was projected that Kaiser
would recover its investment in approximately two years.
About Access GE
The counsel and expertise that GE Capital provided to Kaiser
Aluminum represented the type of partnership that Access
GE strives to achieve with all of its clients by broadly utilizing
the resources of the company to contribute to their client’s
success. As Kaiser Aluminum looks forward, it is well-positioned
to realize the potential from the investments it has made in
its business, including upgrades that stand to enhance the
sustainability and energy efficiency of its manufacturing
facilities.
• Build a best-in-class finance function,
Access GE allows customers to tap into GE’s unique insights,
tools and best practices to address needs that go beyond
financing. Our team is composed of seasoned professionals
with the breadth and depth of experience, insights and
resources that can help customers tackle their biggest
challenges, including:
• Grow sales and explore new markets,
• Manage costs,
• Plan and integrate a merger,
• Hire, develop and retain talent,
• Manage regulatory, market and competitive dynamics, and
• Increase operational effectiveness and productivity.
Since 2000, more than 6,500 customers have participated in
8,500 Access GE engagements. Customers can access this
resource through their GE Capital representative or the Access
GE Growth Leader in their area.
To learn more about the ways GE Capital and Access GE
can help your business, go to www.americas.gecapital.com/
working-with-us/access-ge or call (203) 956-4202.
© 2012 General Electric Capital Corporation
2