Abstract Improving energy efficiency in industry is recognized as one of the most vital activities for the mitigation of climate change. Consequently, policy initiatives from governments addressing both energy-intensive and small and medium-sized industry have been enacted. In this paper, the energy end-use and the energy efficiency potential among industrial small and medium-sized companies participating in the Swedish Energy Audit Program are reviewed. The three manufacturing industries of wood and cork, food products and metal products (excluding machinery and equipment) are studied. A unique categorization of their production processes’ energy end-use is presented, the results of which show that the amount of energy used in various categories of production processes differ between these industries. This applies to support processes as well, highlighting the problem of generalizing results without available bottom-up energy end-use data. In addition, a calculation of conservation supply curves for measures related to production processes is presented, showing that there still remains energy saving potential among companies participating in the Swedish Energy Audit Program. However, relevant data in the database used from the Swedish Energy Audit Program is lacking which limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the conservation supply curves. This study highlights the need to develop energy policy programs delivering high-quality data. This paper contributes to a further understanding of the intricate matters of industrial energy end-use and energy efficiency measures.