MONMOUTH — A little more than six months after firing up, textile-maker Tex Tech’s new biomass boiler is more than delivering on its promise to save energy, company officials say.

The company, in turn, has delivered on its pledge to use the savings to create nearly two dozen new jobs.

Ken Bundy, Tex Tech’s director of engineering services, told selectmen recently that the company hopes the system will save $400,000 a year in fuel costs. The boiler had saved $215,000 through May.

Tex Tech typically fills its oil tanks a few times per month, Bundy said. They’ve had to have two fill-ups this year.

“We’re on track,” Bundy said.

Tex Tech, which had to add 20 jobs to qualify for a Efficiency Maine grant to help pay for the new boiler, already has added 21 jobs while closing a plant in China, Bundy said. Nine of those new employees are Monmouth residents, he said.

Text Tech makes textiles used for a variety of applications, from tennis ball felt to fibers used in the aerospace industry and by the military and law enforcement. The company approached selectmen in 2010 about partnering so it could apply for the $800,000 Efficiency Maine Grant. Voters overwhelmingly agreed to that partnership a few months later.

Since then, Bundy said, the company has enjoyed a time of growth as product lines have taken off, research and development has expanded and significant renovations have been undertaken at the company’s North Monmouth plant.

In other news, selectmen recently recognized 16-year-old Joseph Manduca of Monmouth. The Monmouth Academy Jr. made several improvements to the picnic area at Whittier Woods in East Monmouth for a Boy Scout project. Manduca leveled the gravel and poured concrete for two picnic tables. He also framed canopies over the tables and put on the metal roofing.

“This area should serve the residents of Monmouth and citizens from the surrounding area for many years,” Public Works Director Herbert Whittier wrote in a certificate of appreciation to Manduca. “It’s fine young men like yourself that make Monmouth a better place to live.”

Whittier said one of the town’s next projects could affect those who use South Monmouth Road. The public works crew planned to replace a culvert near the new substation soon.

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com