“Go Green” Part of Our Everyday Culture

January 4, 2016

Associates at Precision Strip have been going green for the last 34 years! Every day, we dress for work with our green uniforms and green hard hats. The morning coffee is served in green mugs. PS Transport makes deliveries to our customers in their green trucks. You may already be thinking that this green way of life does not exactly relate to “going green” in an environmental friendly way, but going green, in every sense, is truly part of our everyday culture.

Precision Strip’s “Go Green” initiatives include four R’s including (1) Recycle, (2) Reuse, (3) Reduce, and (4) Rethink.

Recycle & Reuse

[Recycled Skids - Precision Strip] Wood skids are repaired, inspected, and reused. The skids are torn down and the good lumber is reclaimed while the damaged lumber is shredded internally. This material is then used at a local lumber company to generate electric power. Fiber Cores are also inspected and reused and often returned to the manufacturer to recycle material after the core has lost its integrity.

Items such as cardboard, coil paper and plastic are baled and then recycled. Interleaving paper is rewrapped and sent to be recycled. Office paper, computers, monitors, and toner cartridges are recycled. Our safety gloves and sleeves are laundered for reuse.

We offer our customers four-post steel shipping racks instead of using wood pallets. We currently have over 15,000 in circulation being reused. Another means of reuse is by using plastic cores versus fiber cores. Customers have been very supportive and willing to help PSI recycle the cores. Waste oil is also recycled from the forklifts and tractor trailer fleet of 300. This is burned in our plants’ energy efficient furnaces to provide heat.

Reduce

When we purchase new tractors/trailer equipment, weight can be reduced by purchasing tractors/trailers that are aluminum, have two smaller fuel tanks versus one large tank, and have super single tires (no spare). All of these factors increase fuel efficiency.

Other areas, such as resetting thermostats, reducing light in storage areas, and using high energy efficient fluorescent lighting are other methods to reduce. And, finally, Precision Strip’s means of communication is handled electronically, such as our weekly Thursday Letter from the President.

Rethink

Green focus groups at each plant location strategize ways to package coils more environmentally efficient. Customers are contacted to see if there are opportunities to have cost savings in regards to packaging specs.

As with any process, continual improvement is essential for becoming better. Associates at Precision Strip are committed to “Go Green” continual improvement.