About Us

Technical Consulting for Industrial Energy Usage

APenergy was founded in 1986 to offer our expertise for productions looking to reduce energy costs and enhance their operations. Since then, the technology and financial incentives have changed, but our mission for helping industrial clients with practical solutions has not.

Technical Expertise Backed By Years of Experience

Our founder, Hank van Ormer, is well-known in the industrial, construction, mining, and well-drilling markets. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and has done post-graduate work at several universities. He has held key management and executive positions with major manufacturers and dealerships. Hank has authored more than 100 technical articles and published several books.

He is just one example of the technical expertise you can expect when you work with APenergy. We’ve spent years investing in knowledge on energy improvements and learning all we can about utility incentives. There’s no one better to turn to for:

Why Companies Choose APenergy

We’ve earned the title of an industry leader by helping a multitude of facilities and plants, large and small, save substantial amounts of money by reducing their energy costs, boosting production quality, or both. Our team of experts offer practical solutions backed by our years of experience and the results we’ve seen in the past.

We chose to remain independent and brand-neutral because our first priority belongs to the customer. We base our consulting and recommendations on what works best for you and what will deliver the optimal results.

1,200+

System Review and Project Installations

47+

States With Active Clients

75+

GWH of Verified Energy Savings

Why Companies Choose APenergy

We’ve earned the title of an industry leader by helping a multitude of facilities and plants, large and small, save substantial amounts of money by reducing their energy costs, boosting production quality, or both. Our team of experts offer practical solutions backed by our years of experience and the results we’ve seen in the past.

We chose to remain independent and brand-neutral because our first priority belongs to the customer. We base our consulting and recommendations on what works best for you and what will deliver the optimal results.

1,200+

System Review and Project Installations

175+

Years of Industrial Assessment Experience

47

Different States Served

Our History

Hank van Ormer, one of the true experts of compressed air systems and their operation, started APenergy as a technical consulting company in 1986. His goal was to provide industrial customers with sound and practical insights to troubleshoot and improve their compressed air systems. Hank, along with Bill Scales, is generally recognized as one of the foundational contributors to the creation of the highly respected Compressed Air Challenge Program (CAC), operated by the US Department of Energy.

Central to Hank’s approach is the need to apply transparent analytics and solid economic evaluation as the basis for his recommendations. But most important was Hank’s commitment to ensuring his analysis was “independent and brand neutral” and free of any bias toward any OEM. To this day, “APenergy – Independent and Brand Neutral” remains the tag line of our company.

For most of the 1980s and 1990s, APenergy projects were funded directly by end-users like General Motors, Abbott Labs, and Packaging Corporation of America (PCA). When business economics shifted in the 2000’s, fewer and fewer engineering resources and capital budgets were available to make compressed air system improvements. APenergy shifted as well and began working with a new revenue source–electric utilities that had engineering and project incentives to help their industrial customers become more energy efficient and competitive in a world marketplace. This shift continues today with more than 70% of APenergy revenues linked to utility incentive programs, often on a performance basis, which means our revenues are based on how much verified savings we can demonstrate by improving a customer’s air system.

The last five years have brought a third stage in the evolution of APenergy; we have assembled an array of similarly independent and brand neutral technical consulting firms that together can help customers with almost any of their energy-using systems. We’re not limited to compressed air and vacuum system; we also work with systems, such as process cooling, hydraulics, automation and controls, industrial process changes, power quality, steam and heat recovery systems, and lighting. With this shift, we now offer turnkey solutions that cover the complete package of System Assessment, Project Implementation, and Creative Funding. We are most excited to offer the creative funding benefit because when we combine our highly regarded expertise in Utility Incentive Management with our ability to provide project financing on a Cash Flow Positive Basis, we can offer turnkey energy system improvements that result in a minimum impact on the limited capital budgets most companies face today!

  • 1985

    December 5th, 1985 – APenergy was incorporated

    APenergy was founded in 1986 by our president, H.P. “Hank” van Ormer, to meet a growing demand for expert counsel on ways to improve production and reduce electric power costs of compressed air systems. We are not a compressor dealer. We are practical, down-to-earth compressed air consultants, not “blue sky” theorists.

  • 1990’s

    Accomplishments during the 90’s

    –  Initial compressed air study completed for the department of defense, culminating and reviews of 15 sites.

    –  Industry Award from Compressed Air Challenge, U.S. Department of Energy.

    –  Identified our largest compressed air leak to date.

    –  APenergy adds project implementation support to its services.

  • 1998

    Partners in Excellence

    Partners in Excellence from Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories.

  • 1999

    Comprehensive Reviews

    Comprehensive review of compressed air systems in more than 30 GM plants from 1999-2000.

  • 2000

    Improving Compressed Air System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry

    From 2000-2003 Hank Van Ormer worked with Bill Scales in key advisory role for the publication of “Improving Compressed Air System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry” – The NREL sourcebook for the DOE’s Industrial Technologies Office

  • 2002

    Utility Programs

    APenergy moves strongly into working within utility programs to fund and develop compressed air studies. This is a result of traditional customers having fewer resources available for efficiency improvements.

  • 2007

    Proprietary Modeling Software

    Developed proprietary modeling software for modeling and report automation from 2007-2014.

  • 2008

    60 Audits Throughout California

    From 2008-2012 we completed 60 Audits throughout California which represented our first concentrated utility program blitz.

  • 2013

    Entergy Arkansas

    Exceptional Achievements Award – Entergy Arkansas

  • 2014

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  Top Performer Award – 35 GWh of verified savings

    –  Expands assessment opportunities into Hydraulic applications

  • 2015

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  Assessed all 11 Nevada Energy facilities, which power the Las Vegas Strip.

    –  Exceptional Achievements Award – Entergy Arkansas

    –  APenergy completed 52 project implementations under the Vermont , using its first no project cost incentive model.

  • 2016

    Office Relocation

    Office moves to Gahanna, Ohio

  • 2017

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  APenergy delivers is largest single facility savings to date – 6.5 GWh

    –   Most Comprehensive Commercial Energy Efficiency Trade Ally Award

  • 2018

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  ComEd Special Energy Savings Achievements Award

  • 2019

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  ComEd Special Energy Savings Achievements Award

  • 2020

    Awards and Opportunites

    –  APenergy moves to offer Creative Funding for project implementation

Resources

Take a deep dive into our case studies of past work along with the awards and recognition we’ve earned over the years. Learn more about the difference APenergy can make in your operations.