The Environmental Evolution of a Metal Stamper

Connecticut Spring and Stamping (CSS; Farmington, CT) manufactures springs, metal stampings and assemblies from both wire and sheet metal. After winding, bending, stamping, and grinding operations, many of the products must be cleaned and degreased before a final finish is applied.

By the mid-1990s, parts degreasing operations had become a financial and environmental burden on CSS. The 1960s-era vapor degreasers necessitated the purchase of huge quantities of expensive virgin tetrachloroethylene (perc), new regulations tightened permissible air emissions and made waste perc disposal much more costly, and concerns about the health implications of worker’s exposure to perc meant reducing emissions or installing a venting system.

Facing tightening air emission regulations, CSS made a serious effort to find alternatives, eventually deciding to purchase two state-of-the-art Pero Model 2501A batch vacuum degreasers with an in-line still to recover valuable perc from the unit’s waste. The new units’ improved design halved virgin perc purchases and cut perc vapor emissions by 70 percent. The fully-contained unit discharges no water, producing only a very small chemical residue that is processed in accordance with hazardous waste disposal regulations.

The new turnkey system allowed CSS to change its hazardous waste generator status from large quantity generator to small quantity generator, which came with very welcome reductions in overhead and regulatory requirements. Reduced tetrachloroethylene purchases netted savings of nearly $40,000 a year and hazardous waste disposal costs were reduced by $7,500. In addition, CSS virtually eliminated air emissions from the prior system. Finally, dramatically reduced odors removed the need for personal protective equipment or an exhaust system.

The results of the new system far exceeded their expectations and are seen by Chuck Thomas, the company’s vice president of operations and environmental officer, as the single most significant factor that shifted the factory’s thinking and set it on its current path of going above and beyond requirements to doing what is best from an environmental point of view.

“We knew our old equipment needed to be replaced and we had a variety of lower cost options, but we decided to go for this top of the line system for the sake of our employees, the environment, and to set us up for improved manufacturing processes to keep up with the times,” notes Thomas. “The results opened up our eyes to the extended benefits of environmental compliance.”

In a final testament to the importance of the achievement, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection wrote a Pollution Prevention Study about the system in 1998, making CSS a veritable poster child for investing in environmental excellence.

After gaining success with its foray into cutting edge environmental equipment, CSS has now moved to a situation where it goes over and above every existing state requirement, actively looking for an environmentally preferable alternative for every chemical or substance used in the plant. It has been cited in numerous customer audits as well ahead of other similar vendors in environmental compliance.