East Hampton, Conn. – Witch hazel has been used for centuries for a variety of cosmetic and pharmaceutical skin benefits. Since the late 1800s, American Distilling has been one of the leading global sources of sustainable Distilled Witch Hazel Extracts, manufactured right here in Connecticut.
A company motto, “Earth Day, Every Day,” reflects their commitment to responsible manufacturing and environmental policies. Practices include eco-friendly research, respectful and sustainable witch hazel plant harvesting, heat reclamation, pulp recycling, energy conservation, cruelty free production and using organic, non-GMO and vegan ingredients.
“Energy projects are important to our company,” said American Distilling Plant Engineer Mike Boule. “Our commitment to advanced, eco-friendly research, development and technology ensures that our products exceed the expectations of today’s environmentally conscious customers.”
This past fall, the company began the process of upgrading heating and energy systems. With the assistance of the commercial and industrial project team at Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., American Distilling secured $9,080 in incentives available through the Energize Connecticut initiative to help make new upgrades financially feasible. An estimated 4.2 percent of the annual natural gas costs per year will be saved through the installation of insulation to the heating system piping and boiler equipment. This equates to 10,928 ccf saved annually and 185,338 ccf over a lifetime.
Their latest improvement was to insulate the heating system’s piping and boiler equipment, including the addition of fiberglass tank insulation with aluminum jacket to the feedwater tank and removable insulation blankets to the system’s valves, tank manways and boiler flanges.
“After the completion of insulating the boiler room, the temperature of the surrounding offices is much cooler, helping us to save money on cooling costs,” said Boule. “We are also seeing a savings on fuel cost, as the steam system is much more efficient and there is far less heat loss.”
The heating system work completed at American is just one of various energy upgrade projects being made to the facility. In addition to the heating system insulation and already realized energy savings, Boule also stated that American Distilling is in the process of retrofitting their lighting system in one of their warehouses for additional energy cost savings and environmentally friendly practices.
“The potential money saved and the positive benefits to the environment motivated American Distilling to take part in these available energy incentive programs. These savings then allow companies to reinvest in their business,” said Jane Lano, Conservation and Load Management Supervisor at AVANGRID Inc.
About Energize Connecticut
Energize Connecticut helps you save money and use clean energy. It is an initiative of the State of Connecticut, the Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource, UI, SCG and CNG, with funding from a charge on customer energy bills. Information on energy-saving programs can be found at EnergizeCT.com or by calling 877.WISE.USE.
About CNG
Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG) is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR). Established in 1848, CNG serves approximately 176,000 residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the greater Hartford-New Britain area, and Greenwich, Connecticut. For more information, visit www.cngcorp.com.
About American Distilling, Inc.
American Distilling is committed to maintaining our position as the industry leader, supplying the Health and Beauty Care and Pharmaceutical industries with the highest quality, sustainable Distilled Witch Hazel ingredient products as only we can. Our talented staff of professionals is dedicated to providing the highest standards of customer service, personal integrity and consumer value. Each day, we demonstrate our expertise by producing “excellence assured” ingredients for formulations and assisting with new product development to form long-term partnerships with all of our valued customers.