AHMEEK LOCATION – Neuvokas is a Finnish word meaning resourceful, creative or innovative, and it’s also the name of a manufacturing company in Ahmeek Location, which recently received an award for innovation in energy conservation.

Erik Kiilunen, CEO of Neuvokas Corp., said the company manufactures concrete reinforcing bars with a process called fiber reinforced polymers, which has been used for about 30 years.

Although the process he uses to make the rebar is proprietary, Kiilunen did say he uses basalt fiber rather than fiberglass, which other manufacturers use.

On Nov. 10 in East Lansing, Neuvokas and other Michigan manufacturers received awards from the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council.

In written statement about the awards, Liesl Eichler Clark, MEIBC president, said the companies recognized are helping to strengthen Michigan’s economy.

“The growth of Michigan’s clean energy sector cannot be overstated,” she wrote. “Across the public and private sectors, Michigan is benefiting from investment and leadership by companies and individuals that has helped to grow Michigan’s $7.2 billion clean energy sector.”

Kiilunen said Neuvokas is an outgrowth of his previous company, Eco Stud, which made non-load-bearing internal wall studs. It was at that time he developed the basalt FRP process, which gave him an idea.

“I decided to make rebar,” he sad.

The Neuvokas rebar is being used in construction projects in Houston, Texas, and other places, and Kiilunen said he expects they will be used for curbs and gutters for the Michigan Department of Transportation reconstruction project of Quincy Street in Hancock in 2016.

Kiilunen said he’s been in his 32,000-square-feet building about one year. Currently he’s using 20,000 square feet, but has plans to expand into the other 12,000 square feet.

With his production process, Kiilunen said using the same amount of energy, he can make rebar at a rate about seven and a half times faster than the standard process, which produces about 10 feet per minute.

“We’re currently producing at 75 feet per minute,” he said. “We can see our way clear of 200 feet per minute. We’ve reduced the energy to produce 10 times.”

Kiilunen said he also has plans to create a co-generation system to reuse much of his waste exhaust and reuse it in the facility.

“We’ll suck our exhaust out and we’ll pull it through the co-gen unit,” he said.

Kiilunen said he appreciated the award from the MEBIC because it’s vindication of the company’s efforts at reducing energy use.

“It’s a recognition we’re doing something worthwhile,” he said.