Manufacturers Go Lean And Green In Springfield

Adopting a lean and green business model was the predominant theme at the East Coast’s largest annual showcase of manufacturing equipment in West Springfield, Mass., May 21-23.

While getting lean and going green may seem contradictory, they go hand-in-hand, creating sustainability for a company, said Gary Langenwalter, a speaker at the conference and partner of ConfluencePoint, a sustainability-consulting firm in Portland, Ore.

“Becoming environmentally sustainable does not harm a company financially,” Langenwalter said. “If waste and pollution are eliminated costs decrease and sales may rise.”

Sustainability exists when a manufacturer produces more energy than it uses, uses more waste than it produces, and emits zero toxins.

14,000 Executives

The concept has been a priority at United Technologies Corp. since former CEO George David promoted the concept and pushed hard for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Mark Citroni, a former UTC environmental program manager who was involved in sustainability projects at the company.

Smaller Connecticut companies, such as Yamazen Inc., a global trading company in Berlin that distributes machine tools and other industrial and engineering equipment, have also worked to conserve energy.

One of their best selling product lines, Brother Machine centers, are being created with more efficient motors and driver mechanisms, leading to faster machines that use less energy.

Todd Campbell, manager of the company, said those machines now consume 70 percent less power than its competitor’s models.

“It’s the ability to do more with less,” Campbell said. “It leaves behind a smaller carbon footprint.”

More than 14,000 manufacturing executives and more than 600 builders and distributors of machine tools and related technologies occupied 160,000 square feet of exhibit space at the 29th Annual EASTEC Advanced Productivity Exposition at Springfield’s Eastern States Exposition Grounds.

The convention drew manufacturers that make goods ranging from aerospace to medical components and military equipment.

“It’s a trade show for buyer-seller interaction,” said Dave Morton, the senior show manager. “People come to buy products and get innovative ideas to stay ahead of the competition and run a more efficient company.”

George David A Driving Force

Citroni, a conference speaker who now works with Fuss & O’Neill Manufacturing Solutions in Manchester, described UTC’s David as a driving force behind the sustainability movement.

Under David, the company worked to improve its environmental, health and safety performance. That led to initiatives such as the Pratt & Whitney co-generation facility in Middletown, which opened in March.

It’s capable of generating 7.5 megawatts of power, or two-thirds of the site’s electrical energy and the majority of steam for winter heating, summer cooling and manufacturing process equipment. Officials said the facility will reduce operating costs and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 metric tons, or 12 percent, on an annual basis.

UTC hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent annually over the next three years and will invest $100 million from 2007 through 2010 in energy conservation projects.

Pratt & Whitney also operates a 30-megawatt co-generation facility to power its East Hartford facility providing similar benefits.

“When you generate and reuse your energy onsite, you save money and reduce the carbon footprint,” Citroni said.

Many of the 68 Connecticut manufacturers in attendance at EASTEC have adopted sustainability practices.

Jeff Boulden, marketing manager of the Morris Group Inc., a Windsor machine tool distributor, said his firm pursues a lean strategy. It has reduced the amount of time spent in the adjustments stage of operations, where the company alters products they’ve imported and are preparing to sell to U.S. companies.

“Rather then spend time and energy to make those changes here, we’ve worked with our supplier in Japan to ship products that are specifically designed to the buyer’s needs and desires,” Boulden said. “This reduces the amount of time the product is sitting in our warehouse, and gets it the customer quicker.”