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NPEP Success Story
Blount International, Inc. Reduces Total Lead Usage by 35%
In 1947, the Oregon Saw Chain Manufacturing Corporation was founded with four employees and one product, chainsaw chain. Today Oregon Saw Chain Manufacturing Corporation is Blount International, Inc., a diversified international company that sells its products in more than 100 countries around the world and has over 3,000 employees worldwide. Blount is a leading provider of chains, bars, and sprockets for the chainsaw industry, as well as yard care accessories and concrete cutting saws.
Blount’s NPEP Goal
Blount, Inc.'s Portland facility joined the NPEP program in March, 2008 with a goal to reduce lead use by 35% by June, 2009. Our goal focused on the electrolytic cleaning process used to surface prep parts for chromium plating. In the electrolytic cleaning process, acids, caustics, rinse water, and lead anodes were used to electrolytically clean the parts prior to plating. The process generated acid-, caustic-, and lead-contaminated waste, waste water, and process exhaust that required treatment.
NPEP Project Implementation
To achieve our NPEP goal, Blount focused on the total elimination of lead from the electrolytic cleaning process. It was apparent that our 35% lead reduction goal could only be realized with a complete conversion from the existing cleaning process to a new technology.
The alternative chosen was a new technology that substituted the old process and chemicals for non-toxic and non-hazardous alternatives. The new process uses mechanical methods and a mild cleaning solution. The process substitution required the purchase of new equipment, a thorough qualification process, and complete removal of the old equipment, chemical systems, and waste treatment systems.
Hurdles Faced
A number of hurdles impeded the substitution of the existing process and chemicals. The first was the high initial cost of the new equipment needed to implement the new technology.
There was also a lengthy qualification process to ensure that downstream processes, product quality, and our customers' satisfaction were not negatively affected by the change. This resulted in trials of various cleaning media and cleaning solutions to achieve the cleanliness needed for the chromium plating process and other downstream processes.
Finally, the Portland facility has space constraints. This resulted in challenges to installing the new equipment and running months of qualifications while simultaneously maintaining production through the old process to meet customer demand.
Waste Minimization Results
Blount achieved its goal of eliminating lead anodes used for pre-plate cleaning, for a 35% reduction equal to 1400 pounds of total lead used at the facility. In addition to the elimination of lead in the pre-plate cleaning process, this source reduction project eliminated 63,000 pounds per year of related waste and 800,000 gallons per year of lead-contaminated waste water. There were significant savings in labor and raw material costs. More importantly, Blount is able to provide a cleaner, healthier work environment for our employees.
Lessons Learned
A change as significant as this takes support from a dedicated project team as well as support from management. This support is vital to keep the project on track while managing the details and the unexpected changes that inevitably come from a large project.
Projects with a positive environmental impact can also result in significant raw material, labor, and waste treatment cost savings and a safer work environment. The attention given to this project was elevated by the visibility and status of its association with our NPEP goal.