Sustainable Plants Go Mainstream

Companies shift to sustainable manufacturing and green products.

The New Belgium Brewing Co., in Fort Collins, Colo., was green before green became cool. The brewery appointed a sustainability expert in 2002. In 2006, the company raised the position to boardroom status, placing the company’s former chief financial officer and chief operating officer in the role of sustainability director.

At first, the effort to go green was an expense—the price the company was willing to pay to elevate its position among employees and customers. In the last few years of energy spikes, the effort toward sustainability comes with a return on investment (ROI). “The payoff for sustainability is in dollars now,” says Jenn Orgolini, sustainability director at New Belgium Brewing. “It took a long time for the ROI, but the payoff is there now..." Read more

Creating Dependable Automation

Automation Systems can be complex, with many solutions available to keep them running reliably.

Talk about reliability in manufacturing and the word that probably springs to mind is “motor.” Certainly, motors and other rotating equipment must be kept moving. No work is done unless a motor turns. Not surprisingly, suppliers have invested in technology to improve the reliability of these workhorses of manufacturing. Other parts of the automation system have gone under the reliability microscope, as well. As automation becomes more software intensive, it is imperative that engineers pay attention to reducing computer down-time. From sensors to software, engineers have used their ingenuity and technology to create a dependable automation system.

How about avoiding emergency shutdowns and saving your company $300,000? One paper plant invested in technology that monitors rotating equipment. The result was avoiding an emergency shut down, saving $180,000 in lost production and replacement parts, and another $120,000 on “machine clothing (Fourdranier Wire—a belt of woven wire used on the wet end of a Fourdrinier Machine, which is used to form a web of paper)..." Read more

Do You Really Need that Separate Safety Network?

Why install the latest generation of safety networks? Most people would put the money saved on less wiring at the top of their list of answers.

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