In order to continue reducing emissions and waste streams year after year, Pamarco consistently invests in research into materials consumed, amount of material used, and the exploration of alternative materials. Every year, Pamarco makes progress in these areas; 2017 will not be an exception. We are aggressively pursuing initiatives to further diminish the waste stream at each of our facilities this year.
The most important challenge that we face is no degradation in safety or in product quality while pursuing this. Pamarco is committed to providing a safe environment and unwavering in our promise to maintain the highest standards as measured in consistency, durability, and roll performance. To achieve that, we have, and will continue to experiment with new raw materials, methods, and technologies.
Pamarco takes our part in improving the environment very seriously. We are determined to seek out the best practices for the benefit of our employees, customers, company, and communities. A desired by-product of these efforts is reducing cost, but Pamarco’s primary objective is to be proactive in lessening our environmental footprint whenever and wherever possible.
Initial efforts in this objective brought about an increase in cost. As we have continued to refine our practices, however, we have become more cognizant of the long-term benefits which help defray much of those costs. During this process, our customer base has also grown more environmentally aware, and many are participating with us. As Pamarco achieves our goals, we anticipate that our customers will become even more involved in future initiatives.
We are still collecting the financial data on our efforts to be more environmentally conscious, but recognize that our investment in change has been successful. The greatest area of improvement has been seen in our collection methods. In Pamarco facilities to date, we have been able to successfully recycle a significant portion of our waste stream, improving our footprint, while helping to control costs.
Each of us (companies and individuals both) have a responsibility to look closely at our impact on the environment. A cornerstone of Pamarco’s Lean Manufacturing efforts is continuous improvement: the idea that each incremental improvement thereby enables the next subsequent improvement. As Pamarco’s technology and reclamation efforts improve and are implemented into our day-to-day operations, additional opportunities now become feasible in areas previously unattainable. In light of the current technology evolution, improving methods, and reduced costs, the business community has an obligation to review how and where they can make a difference.