Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), a leading manufacturer of water management products, sought to better understand and address elevated heat conditions within its manufacturing facility in Perry, Georgia. The combination of Georgia’s hot, humid climate, significant process heat loads, and building envelope conditions created periods of elevated thermal risk. With heat exposure also facing increased regulatory attention, ADS engaged Stream’s Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, and Distribution team to evaluate the operational and financial implications and develop an investment strategy that could improve long-term thermal performance while positioning the business for evolving workplace heat requirements.
Stream conducted a comprehensive Thermal Performance Evaluation integrating facility conditions, process heat loads, weather data, energy consumption, building envelope performance, and evolving heat-risk thresholds. The assessment identified more than 2,000 annual work hours with elevated heat risk and evaluated three improvement strategies across varying levels of investment and performance. Stream developed a targeted approach combining localized chilled-water make-up air with building and process improvements, including air curtains, radiant shielding, cool-roof strategies, and insulation repairs.
The resulting analysis gave ADS a data-driven business case for prioritizing thermal improvements without relying on facility-wide cooling. Based on the value of recovered productivity, the recommended capital investment was projected to pay for itself in approximately six months while mitigating thermal risk, managing operating costs, and protecting long-term facility performance. The assessment also established a repeatable framework for evaluating thermal performance investments across ADS’s broader manufacturing portfolio.
