June 13, 2017
Ohio

Valfilm plans wind turbines

By Lou Wilin, Staff Writer | The Courier | June 13th, 2017 | thecourier.com

A Findlay wind energy company will build two wind turbines, totaling $6.9 million, to help power Valfilm’s headquarters on Findlay’s north end.
Valfilm makes films for food packaging, automotive and construction.
The 405-foot tall wind turbines will be built by One Energy, which built the five wind turbines of the same height serving Whirlpool Corp. and Ball Metal. Construction of the Valfilm wind turbines will start this fall on 35 acres east of the plant, 3441 N. Main St., and east of the CSX railroad tracks.
By early 2018, the two 1.5 megawatt wind turbines will supply over 75 percent of Valfilm’s power needs. The other 25 percent will continue to come from American Electric Power.
Valfilm will buy the wind turbines’ output at a fixed electrical rate over the next 20 years, said Steve Shiparski, Valfilm’s Findlay plant manager.
He was cautiously optimistic that Valfilm would save energy costs in the arrangement.
“Banking on energy futures going up, we can see a nice degree of savings,” Shiparski said, then paused. “Now, that’s currently as we sit today.”
It also speaks to Valfilm’s commitment to staying in Findlay.
“It’s a substantial commitment from Valfilm, saying ‘We’re really wanting to be here for at least 20 more years,’” Shiparski said.
As further evidence of that, Valfilm will start building a 48,300-square-foot expansion by July to add to its food packaging product lines. The addition will create five to 10 additional jobs when it opens in spring 2018, Shiparski said.
The number of additional workers connected with the building addition will eventually grow to 20 to 30 workers, he said.
Valfilm currently employs 101 in Findlay and has 139,000 square feet of building space at the former Dow Chemical Co. site.
Besides food packaging, Valfilm makes film for tier 2 and tier 3 auto suppliers. Much of its product is used in car interiors, Shiparski said.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/06/13/valfilm-plans-wind-turbines/