Michigan Manufacturing Plant Eliminates Maintenance Costs with LED Wall Pack Upgrade

A 24/7 automotive parts manufacturing plant in Michigan completely eliminated its $20,000 annual lighting maintenance budget and improved site security by replacing 120 failing metal halide wall packs with rugged, IP65-rated NGTlight LED Wall Packs. The project’s primary driver was not energy savings, but the high cost and operational disruption of constantly dispatching electricians on lifts to repair fixtures around the active facility. The NGTlight solution, with its 100,000-hour rated life and 10-year warranty, provided a "set it and forget it" solution that immediately solved this operational headache.

For the plant's Facility Manager, the biggest issue with the old lighting was the constant, disruptive maintenance. With the plant operating three shifts, any exterior work required cordoning off active truck routes and employee walkways, creating logistical nightmares. The conclusion was that the maintenance cost was far more than just parts and labor; it included the cost of operational disruption. The existing 175W metal halide fixtures were failing at a rate of 2-3 per month, and each replacement cost an average of $400 when factoring in lift rental and labor. The objective was simple: find a solution that would eliminate lighting maintenance for the foreseeable future.

The plant chose NGTlight's LED Wall Packs specifically for their reputation for durability. The conclusion was that in a harsh industrial environment, a robust build quality was more important than any other feature. The selected fixtures were IP65 rated for dust and water ingress and featured a die-cast aluminum housing and a shatter-resistant polycarbonate lens. The implementation was straightforward: 1) A one-for-one replacement of 120 175W metal halide fixtures with 40W NGTlight LED Wall Packs. 2) All fixtures were installed with integrated photocells for automatic operation. 3) The entire project was completed over a single weekend shutdown to avoid any impact on production. NGTlight's ability to ship the entire order from their North American warehouse was crucial to meeting this tight installation window.

The project has been a complete success, meeting the primary objective of eliminating maintenance. In the 18 months since installation, there have been zero failures. The core conclusion is that investing in a high-quality, industrial-grade fixture provides immediate and lasting operational benefits. While not the primary driver, the energy savings have also been significant, contributing over $10,000 annually to the bottom line. The most noticeable improvement for the plant staff has been the enhanced safety; the bright, uniform 5000K light has eliminated dark spots around the building perimeter and at loading docks.

The key lesson from this industrial retrofit is that for 24/7 operations, reliability and the elimination of disruptive maintenance can provide a more compelling ROI than energy savings alone. The conclusion for other industrial facility managers is to quantify the total cost of maintenance, including operational disruption, when building the business case for a lighting upgrade. The plant manager has now approved a second project to upgrade the facility's interior high bay lighting, and NGTlight has been pre-selected as the vendor based on the performance and reliability of their wall packs.