Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler visited Crown Equipment Corporation’s New Knoxville plant to recognize it for setting the highest standard of environmental stewardship. He presented the company with the first-ever, gold-level award in Ohio EPA’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (?3) program.
Crown, which is one of the world’s largest material handling companies, designs, manufactures, distributes and services forklifts, material handling equipment and their components. The company’s world headquarters is located in New Bremen, Ohio. At its nearby New Knoxville facility, Crown manufactures electric motors and plastic injection-molded parts for new forklifts and dealer replacement parts.
“I am pleased to recognize Crown Equipment and its New Knoxville team for their achievements. This facility shows that being environmentally responsible is good for the economy and part of being a good corporate citizen,” Director Butler said. “We hope other Ohio businesses and organizations will follow Crown’s lead and go above and beyond the requirements of environmental regulations to make Ohio a better place to live and work.”
The ?3 program acknowledges Ohio businesses and other organizations for completing environmentally beneficial activities and serves as an incentive to commit to ongoing environmental stewardship. The gold level recognizes businesses that exceed regulatory compliance obligations and commit to long-term strategies to reduce waste, lower emissions and improve environmental performance.
Jim Dicke III, president, Crown Equipment, said, “Crown Equipment’s commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability began decades ago; it’s a comprehensive, long-term approach that is both sensible and sustainable. In a conscious effort to improve the environment and benefit our customers, we are committed to exploring and implementing conservation-minded practices – the foremost of which are the design, engineering and manufacturing of efficient, long-lasting lift trucks.”
Crown has made numerous efforts to minimize waste, manage energy and maximize lifespan throughout its operations. For example, three of its locations are zero landfill facilities. These include the New Knoxville facility, Crown’s electronics plant and one of its branch locations. New Knoxville has been a zero landfill facility since 2009, saving waste disposal costs while preserving landfill space. The company also made energy efficiency improvements at the location. These improvements included compressed air use reduction, re-engineering blow off guns, lighting upgrades and turning off equipment when not in use.
Also at the New Knoxville facility, the company replaced five hydraulic/electrical injection mold machines with four new energy-efficient injection molding machines; implemented a robust industrial recycling program; switched from solvent-based resins to water-based resins; and initiated a parts repair program for its forklifts.
Further, Crown committed to replacing all of its existing injection molding machines with more energy-efficient models through 2015 and reducing water usage by updating restrooms and sink faucets throughout the facility.
To earn a gold-level award, a business must have an excellent environmental compliance record, complete environmental stewardship activities, have an active environmental management system and commit to pursue environmental improvement projects during the next three years.
