Three more reasons to be a Plant Services reader

As we go to press, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has oil platforms, refineries and LNG deliveries shut down in the Gulf of Mexico, the Sunnis don’t like the draft Iraq constitution, and, for better or worse, the recently-passed 2005 Energy Policy Act pretty much leaves the market in control.The long-term effects of these and other major events are hard to predict, but it’s safe to say that in the short term, we can expect uncertain supplies of oil and natural gas, as well as volatile energy prices. And it looks like the short term could get a lot longer.For years, we at Plant Services have seen energy cost and reliability as a major issue (and competitive opportunity) for U.S. manufacturers. We’ve always covered ways to make your operations more energy-efficient by, for example, lowering the cost of compressed air, using variable-speed drives and high-efficiency motors, incorporating better insulation in roofing systems, recovering BTUs in HVAC systems, and much more. Now we’ve added a monthly column telling how you can deal with energy issues.If you had been in charge of your company’s strategy for the past seven years and implemented a policy that reduced per-unit-production energy cost by more than 20%, you and your plant would be looking pretty good right now. That’s what our new Energy Expert, Peter Garforth, did during his time at Owens Corning. He tells you how to get started in his first column (page 29).Garforth has long been interested in energy efficiency as a profitable business, and he has a track record of establishing successful energy productivity-based businesses. He has held senior management roles at Honeywell and Landis & Gyr (now Siemens Building Technology) and, most recently, was vice president of strategy for Owens Corning, the largest U.S. manufacturer of insulation and other materials. He was co-chairperson of the International Advisory Committee of the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C., a founding member of the European Business Council for a Sustainable Energy Future, a member of the Steering Committee on Energy Efficiency Financing of the Russian Federation, and Chairman of the International Institute for Energy Conservation.Now, as principal of Garforth International LLC, he works out of offices in Toledo, Ohio and Brussels, Belgium, helping major corporations, communities, property developers and policy makers develop competitive approaches to reducing the economic and environmental impact of energy use. He is also a visiting professor at Purdue University, lecturing on business and economic aspects of energy.Our second new addition is Managing Editor Ken Schnepf, who comes to us with 20 years of writing and editing experience, first on a local newspaper and most recently for Dental Products Report. His background in dental technologies and techniques has more in common with plant maintenance than you might think (hey, it’s all like pulling teeth), and the attention to detail and accuracy he brings from the medical world will transfer well to Plant Services. Plus he’s a degreed journalist from Southern Illinois University, something writing engineers desperately need to keep us from mangling the language. The third, and certainly the most potentially controversial, all-new item in this issue is our comic strip. Crisis Corner columnist Joel Leonard buried Bubba and Skeeter, the personifications of reactive maintenance, back in February, but it’s worth being reminded of some of the more heinous practices of that dark age in our history lest we inadvertently continue them. That’s what you’ll find in “The Ghost Tales of Bubba and Skeeter,” premiering on page 21. If I still have this job after my boss sees it, I’ll be very interested in your comments (and any positive ones may help get me off probation). Please take a look and let me know what you think.