Tutera Group, U.S. Toy & BioStar Earn Dept of Energy Awards

Tutera Group and U.S. Toy were recently honored with Interior Lighting Campaign awards presented by the Department of Energy for exemplary energy efficient lighting upgrades completed by BioStar Lighting.  The ILC is a Better Buildings Challenge program with a goal of replacing 1 million standard interior troffer lights with energy efficient LED lights, which would save the equivalent of the electricity consumed by 5500 US homes.  The awards, which were presented at the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) 2016 International Conference in Washington DC, recognize the companies’ commitment to sustainability.

Tutera Group received the “Exemplary Commercial Real Estate and Hospitality Sector Site” award for the LED lighting upgrade of the office building containing their headquarters at 7611 State Line Road. More than 600 lights were retrofitted, reducing the building’s lighting energy use by 62% and saving over 100,000 kWh of electricity per year. The commercial real estate and senior living management company is now in the process of upgrading their portfolio of properties and has completed 13 turnkey LED retrofits with BioStar Lighting.

“With most of our Kansas City portfolio complete, we are excited to leverage BioStar’s nationwide capabilities and start looking at other projects outside of the Kansas City metro. BioStar is currently evaluating nine more of our assisted living communities throughout Missouri and Illinois,” says CEO Joe Tutera.

Greg Hoefer, Executive VP Real Estate at Tutera Group, also commented...

“The LED lighting upgrade by Biostar Lighting in our office buildings had to be planned and performed requiring minimal, if any, disruption to our office personnel and our tenants’ personnel.  Through the BioStar Lighting project managers and subcontractors, this requirement was met.  On several occasions the installation crews went beyond their scope to satisfy tenants’ needs.”

U.S. Toy received the “Exemplary Retail, Food Service or Grocery Sector Site” award for the complete LED upgrade of their headquarters in Grandview, MO. BioStar replaced more than 450 fluorescent fixtures in the office in a weekend. They also retrofitted their warehouse.  The projects resulted in a total energy savings estimate of 340,000 kWh per year, reducing their lighting energy use by nearly 70% and eliminating maintenance headaches.

According to Seth Freiden, CEO of U.S. Toy, upgrading to energy efficient lighting with BioStar “supports U.S. Toy’s ongoing commitment to sustainability including retrofitting our factories with energy-efficient lighting, controls, solar, and increased use of recycled packaging.”

BioStar Lighting is thrilled that their clients were honored for their energy efficiency efforts.

“Our design team focuses on high-quality project-specific solutions that result in maximum energy savings, ensure the best paybacks and guarantee a long product life. The ILC awards recognize the exemplary performance of these solutions,” said Mark Mansheim, President of BioStar Lighting.