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Success Story

Vigor, Portland and Clackamas

Safety, savings, sustainability

Vigor’s Swan Island shipyard is one of the largest on the West Coast, spanning 60 acres and providing jobs for up to 700 employees.

The safety of those employees is one reason Vigor embarked on a $2.1 million upgrade to replace antiquated lighting at Swan Island as well as its Clackamas fabrication facility with brighter, more efficient LEDs. “We have twice the light we had before, making it much safer, particularly for our graveyard and swing shifts,” said Shawn Steele, facilities manager. 

In addition to safer working conditions, Vigor is experiencing significant savings. Annual energy costs are down by about $600,000, allowing Vigor to invest the savings in new equipment that contributes to product quality. “We’ve also seen a 10-fold reduction in maintenance needed to change bulbs, allowing employees to focus on other critical maintenance,” said Steele.

Vigor had another objective in mind when opting for LEDs. “Sustainability is very important to us. We like to set the standard and adopt green technology wherever we can,” said Steele.

Energy Trust cash incentives of $1.2 million helped offset the cost. According to Steel: “Without those incentives, we may not have been able to make this upgrade, which I believe has had the most dramatic positive impact on employees and the environment in the seven years we’ve been here.”