Reliant Finishing Systems Announces “Green Aware Initiative”
Reliant Finishing Systems announced today that they have expanded their commitment to going “green” with a program that involves significant revisions to the company’s packaging methods. The plan, known as the Reliant “Green Aware Initiative,” focuses on a new method of crating the equipment manufactured by the company. It will dramatically decrease the amount of lumber being used and replace it with recyclable scrap material.
This is Reliant’s largest step to date towards decreasing the company’s environmental impact. The company examined their packaging material’s complete life-cycle beyond consumer use to disposal. “This initiative is being undertaken across the company,” said Mr. John Thomason, Reliant’s Executive Vice President. “The changes we are making now not only reduce the amount of new packaging materials we must use, but also help assure that the products we manufacture arrive in perfect condition.”
Mr. Manolo Diaz-Marta, who operates Spray Booth Supplies (http://www.sprayboothsupplies.com), believes that Reliant’s Green Aware Initiative will reap long-term benefits for everyone. “Powder coating is a much ‘greener’ process than traditional painting, and Reliant’s equipment is the most fuel-efficient on the market. I feel that Reliant is taking the next logical step by addressing their company’s entire environmental impact, from manufacturing to delivery. By implementing this change, Reliant will be able to reduce tons of incidental waste on an annual basis. We’ve enjoyed being a leading online outlet for Reliant’s equipment. The advantages of their products are easy to sell and the value of their new packaging method is obvious,” he said.
Reliant’s new plan is the direct result of a series of customer service surveys conducted by the company. In an effort to improve customer service, the company tasked sales support personnel to establish on-going dialogues with clients as they began to install their new equipment. Certain behaviors were noted as being consistent from client to client. One of these behaviors caught the attention of Reliant’s management team. “We determined that our conventional wooden crating was typically dismantled and disposed of by customers immediately after our products were unloaded. This seemed like a terrible waste. Finding a better way to package our products became a top priority,” said Mr. Michael Schuerer, President of Reliant Finishing Systems. “We felt that this was an issue where we could provide leadership within our industry, reduce our impact on the environment and generate tangible benefits for our clients. We’ve developed a revised version of our logo to remind our employees, distributors and clients of Reliant’s commitment to increased awareness and on-going improvement. The changes we’ve made have led to a win-win situation that is hard to find in today’s business environment,” he said.
Reliant’s Green Aware Initiative involves significant changes to the company’s crating methods. The company has replaced a portion of the lumber used in their crates with sections of sheet metal scrap. This also reduces the crates’ overall weight, which can decrease shipping costs. As an added benefit, end-users typically sell the steel crating material back to recyclers, rather than discarding wooden material as trash. The decision to crate certain components in a vertical fashion rather than build large, flat crates eliminated the need for plywood crate lids. The components are now secured to the crate frames using small sections of strapping material. On a typical project, approximately four to five hundred pounds of crating lumber has been eliminated as a result of the initiative.
Mr. Todd Hicks, Reliant Finishing System’s Production Manager, pointed out one of the most satisfying changes. “We have replaced our smaller wooden hardware crates with inexpensive plastic storage bins. This drastically reduced our hardware shipping weights and reduced our manpower needs. Due to this change alone, we anticipate saving thousands of dollars each year. Also, the wooden crates ended up being broken down and incinerated or tossed in the garbage. Now our customers save and reuse the plastic bins,” he said.
Reliant Finishing Systems is a U.S. manufacturer of high-performance finishing equipment that specializes in powder coating systems. Beginning this month, all Reliant curing ovens (https://reliantfinishingsystems.com/powder-coating-equipment/powder-coating-ovens/) and powder coating spray booths will be packaged and shipped according to the guidelines of the company’s Green Aware Initiative.
