Case Study: Steel Fabrication - BendTec

​BendTec is a steel fabrication business that specializes in piping assemblies and bends for the power, pipeline, and mining industries. It also fabricates and bends structural steel for bridges, buildings, and other applications. Company officials stay competitive through innovation and steely resolve— continually looking for ways to operate more efficiently. Hiring ERS Utility Solutions to audit electric and natural gas billings brought powerful savings. 

PAIN POINTS & CHALLENGES

• Steel fabrication and induction bending are energy-intensive processes that demand robust electricity and natural gas services.
• The company closely watches expenses. An important part of this process was obtaining outside expertise to monitor the accuracy of monthly utility bills and onsite metering and measuring equipment.

ERS UTILITY SOLUTIONS

• Applied its forensic auditing approach to assess gas and electric billings, including onsite inspection and testing of meters and measuring equipment
• Identified natural gas services metered at incorrect pressure factors—errors that could not be found just by looking at bills
• Conducted a sales tax exemption study which found utility companies were charging sales tax on exempt services used in production; calculated appropriate sales tax exemptions; filed a refund claim with the State
• Secured refunds for overcharges and worked with utilities to correct billing errors

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“ERS Utility Services was able to go in, conduct a complete analysis, show where we were overpaying, and correct the situation for future savings. There was truly a financial value.” – Tom Conrad, Vice President, BendTec

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OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS

• $77,800+ refunds for natural gas meter pressure correction
• $22,000+ sales tax refund from State of Minnesota
• $27,000+ ongoing sales tax savings
• $25,800+ ongoing savings from meter pressure correction

BOTTOM LINE

BendTec secured more than $152,000 in refunds and cost savings through its audit agreement
with ERS Utility Solutions … and the savings continue to build!

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