Palm Beach concrete company implementing green strategies

If you can ride a bicycle instead of taking a gas-powered vehicle, that’s how you’ll get around the 180-acre manufacturing plant at Royal Concrete Concepts.
Dan Walesky, the company’s plant manager, was involved in the production of the auto industry’s first hybrid car during his tenure in Detroit. Putting his background to maximum effectiveness, he has found ways to reduce the company’s carbon footprint while saving the company money at each step in producing Royal Concrete Concepts products.
The manufacturer of sustainable high performance pre-engineered modular concrete buildings and wall systems has implemented many “greening the company” programs to lower expenses-while being environmentally responsible.
Using bikes for transportation between concrete casting assembly lines is just one initiative the company has adopted, and one that the employees have taken ownership of. “It’s contagious,” said Anna Niehaus, Marketing Director for Royal Professional Builders, the company division that built the first LEED-certified home in Florida. “When we ride the bikes, we get into a different mindset. We start thinking about other ways we can recycle or reduce our carbon footprint.”
Other green endeavors include not only recycling all paper and cardboard throughout the facility, but also all steel, polystyrene and concrete. Dumpsters that are color coded for each material dot RCC’s property. The polystyrene waste is bagged up and reused; it’s returned to the manufacturer when they make deliveries. Revamping the company car pool now means executives can bypass a gas-guzzling SUV for a more fuel-efficient Honda Civic or Toyota Prius to visit job sites or go out in the field.
Niehaus explained that RCC started these programs at a time when it wasn’t fashionable to take such steps. In addition to greening the product line, she was the person who stopped buying Styrofoam cups for the company’s staff kitchens and lunchrooms at their two Florida locations, Okeechobee and West Palm Beach. “Now everyone brings in their own cups.”

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Posted by admin on Apr 30 2009. Filed under Environmental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry