ABSTRACT This article presents the success of two industrial energy audits conducted in Mexico City by a combined team of faculty and students from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa (UMAI). This international exchange examined the potential for technology transfer of the Industrial Assessment Center and Energy Analysis & Diagnostic Center programs that are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy-Office of Industrial Technologies (IAC-DOE program). The article describes the methodology applied by the international team to identify opportunities for energy conservation through on-site audits of the manufacturing plants. Energy conservation opportunities are classified according to potential areas for savings (i.e. lighting, air compressors, motors, etc.) and are depicted in terms of the associated cost savings, energy savings, implementation cost, and payback period. The article presents a case study associated with two manufacturing plants in Mexico. A review of one-year metrics that lists energy conservation opportunities found through UMR-IAC's eighth year of operation is presented for illustration purposes. The metrics are based on 25 audits conducted in the USA and include energy savings, demand savings, cost savings, implementation cost, and payback periods. It also describes the conduction of the joint energy audits as a valuable two-way international project. The article concludes by stressing both the advantages of a joint approach when performing energy audits overseas and the potential for the development of a more ambitious international program for technology transfer. The educational value of the above experience, for the faculty and the students involved in the academic exchange, is also seen as a window opportunity for follow-up activities.