August 2026 Volume 8

ENERGY

The Bottom Line Energy efficiency in forging should not be treated as a side project or a sustainability-only initiative. It is a cost-control strategy, a productivity strategy and a competitiveness strategy. The most practical opportunities usually begin with the basics: measure energy use, focus on furnaces, tune burners, reduce idle time, recover waste heat, fix compressed air leaks, control motors and fans, and build a management system that keeps savings from disappearing over time. For forge shops facing rising costs, workforce constraints, customer reporting expectations and global competition, energy efficiency offers a clear business message: the cheapest unit of energy is still the one you do not have to buy. Thank you to the FIA Energy Subcommittee for their review and contributions to this article. Sources: 1. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOEOCED/ bulletins/39265e4 2. https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/news/better plants-program-partners-save-53-billion-energy-costs 3. https://www.energy.gov/cmei/oced/industrial-demonstrations program-0 4. https://www.clevelandcliffs.com/sustainability/steel-as-a sustainable-material/dept-of-energy-butler-works-project 5. https://www.energy.gov/cmei/oced/industrial-demonstrations program-selections-award-negotiations-iron-and-steel 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland 7. https://www.energy.gov/mesc/industrial-research-and-assessment center-implementation-grant-awards 8. https://www.granges.com/newsroom/in-focus/iso-50001-us/ 9. https://www.energy.gov/mesc/industrial-research-and-assessment center-implementation-grant-awards 10. https://www.cornellforge.com/billet-heating-induction-heating vs-gas-oven-furnaces/

An energy review should include leak detection, compressor sequencing, pressure reduction, receiver capacity and inappropriate uses of compressed air. ENERGY STAR’s industrial resources identify compressed air systems, motors, process heating, pumping and steam as important areas for industrial energy management. 6 For many plants, compressed air improvements offer fast payback. Ultrasonic leak detection, tagging, repair accountability and monthly reporting can turn compressed air from a hidden cost into a managed system. If employees can hear leaks during normal operations, the plant is already paying for wasted electricity. Control Motors, Pumps, Fans and Support Equipment Furnaces may be the most obvious energy users, but they are not the only opportunity. Forging plants run large motors across hydraulic units, cooling systems, dust collection, pumps, fans, cranes and material handling equipment. These systems often run longer than needed or at full speed even when loads vary. Variable frequency drives can reduce energy use on fans, pumps and hydraulic systems where demand changes throughout the day. Preventive maintenance can reduce friction, heat and overloading. Right-sizing equipment and eliminating unnecessary runtime can also help. The key is to evaluate the whole system, not just the motor. Savings come from understanding the motor, drive, controls, load profile, operating schedule and maintenance condition. In many plants, the lowest-cost improvement is simply controlling equipment based on actual demand rather than habit. Build an Energy Management System That Lasts One-time projects are useful, but sustained savings require management discipline. That means assigning responsibility, tracking energy intensity, reviewing performance by production level and making energy part of routine operations. DOE’s Better Plants program reported in 2024 that its partners had achieved $11.8 billion in cumulative cost savings, 2.4 quadrillion Btu in energy savings and 147 million metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions. 7 That scale of savings shows that structured energy management is not theoretical. Large manufacturers are already using it to reduce operating costs. Formal systems such as ISO 50001 and DOE’s 50001 Ready program can provide useful frameworks. Gränges Americas, for example, announced that all three of its U.S. production sites had achieved ISO 50001:2018 certification, supporting continuous improvement in energy performance. 8 Forge shops do not need to overcomplicate the process. A good starting point includes energy data by meter, production-adjusted energy intensity, a list of significant energy users, assigned ownership, management review and a pipeline of projects with estimated savings and payback.

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2026 13