Wearwell actually began in 1950 as a green company manufacturing its first product out of recycled automobile tires. Production technology has dramatically changed since then, but we still champion the use of recycled materials and overall energy conservation. In fact, Wearwell proactively implemented significant environmental measures as part of the construction of our new Corporate Headquarters.
We utilize the following energy saving controls and monitoring systems at our new corporate office and manufacturing facility:
- Wearwell participates in the TVA Green Power Switch. Through this program we buy over 5% of our electricity from renewable sources such as the sun, wind and methane gas produced by landfills and waste treatment facilities. By partnering with the Green Power Switch we have an actual impact on the amount of pollution generated in our area.
- Sixteen (16) of Wearwell's 90 products utilize between 50 and 100% recycled materials. Another thirteen (13) contain between 33 and 50% recycled materials. We continue to investigate alternative compounds for all products when feasible.
- Wearwell utilizes a "Quick Start Monitoring" system by EST to fully review all electrical anomolies, water flow anomolies, etc., so that any issue can be acted upon immediately.
- We've implemented a new digitized document system which has successfully reduced paper consumption and storage by 80%.
- Manufacturing has recently reduced the use of compressed air by 23%. In the manufacturing facility, we filter all processes that emit particles and potentially harmful fumes. This air is then recycled and reused.
- A fully programmable Variable Frequency Control (VFD) by Trane is utilized on all HVAC systems to insure that only the required electrical output is required when HVAC systems are running. This allows Wearwell to run our HVAC systems at 48% capacity on an average day.
- In our injection molding process, we regrind all non-fill parts, thus eliminating seconds and extra waste.
In addition to these current green initiatives, we plan to aggressively investigate other ways to ease Wearwell's impact on the environment including an even more proactive conservation program.
Wearwell is a member of the United States Green Building Council. The USGBC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone. The USGBC created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating SystemTM. This system encourages global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the implementation of performance criteria.