A combination of ingenuity and technical expertise among CertainTeed Corporation employees is making waves at the company's manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Kan. The facility, which produces fiberglass insulation, reduced its water usage by more than 35 percent in 2009.
To help conserve water, the Kansas City plant made adjustments to spray systems to reuse water and eliminate the need for valuable city water. The sprayed water is used to keep the rotary screens clean during the manufacturing process. Through installation of new equipment, controls and piping, the water is now captured, cleaned and re-circulated back into the spray system.
"While the new, more sustainable approach in cleaning the rotary screens required an initial investment in equipment, we were able to recoup the costs in less than one year," says Jeff Chevalier, process engineer for CertainTeed Insulation. "This water conservation project is a perfect example of how working together to reduce our environmental impact can also improve our bottom line."
A part of the community since 1951, the CertainTeed plant in Kansas City manufactures a broad array of insulation products, including fiberglass batts, rolls and blow-in insulation that help make homes more sustainable and energy efficient. In 2008, the plant was inducted into the Millionaires Club – a top honor from parent company Saint-Gobain – for its exceptional safety record. The plant is also an active participant in the Saint-Gobain International Environment, Health and Safety Day, an annual event dedicated to environmental awareness, emergency preparedness, healthy living and workplace safety.
"In addition to offering energy efficient products with renewable and recycled content, and reducing our energy consumption as recognized by the 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year award, we are proud of important milestones like these results in Kansas City," says Paul Valle, president of CertainTeed Insulation. "Our ongoing sustainability efforts will continue to reduce environmental impacts in all areas of our operations."
The milestone is one of many recent environmental wins for CertainTeed, which includes the introduction of Sustainable Insulation(TM). Sustainable Insulation is a new efficient fiberglass insulation product made with recycled and renewable content, including a plant-based binder that has no added formaldehyde, acrylic, dyes or unnecessary fire retardant chemicals. Engineered, produced and shipped with the environment in mind, Sustainable Insulation is manufactured in highly energy-efficient plants with best-in-class water and waste treatments. Designed to last the life of a building, Sustainable Insulation resists moisture absorption and will not settle or lose its energy saving R-value performance over time.
For more information on CertainTeed's environmentally friendly products and sustainable operations, visit www.certainteed.com/insulation.
About CertainTeed
Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed is North America's leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, windows, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers. A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world's largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. In 2009 and 2010, CertainTeed, which is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., was named an Energy Star Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a national award that recognizes environmentally responsible corporations. The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2009.
