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NPEP Success Story: Continuous Coating Corporation
Continuous Coating Corporation Reduces Use of Lead by 70,000 Pounds Per Year, Increases Process Efficiency
Continuous Coating Corporation is an organization that consists of 67 employees and has been in operation since 1965. We electro galvanize steel coils for many end uses, such as computer parts, TV backings, screen doors, refrigerators, rain gutters, and truck bodies. Approximately 180 million square feet of steel is electro-galvanized per year. We also manufacture cornerbead for drywall. Our customer base mainly consists of the housing industries and steel warehouses that supply to metal manufacturers.
We chose to reduce lead because it can be harmful to human health and the environment. Lead and its inorganic compounds are neurotoxins and exposure can cause damage to the kidneys and the central nervous system. By reducing lead in our facility, we were able to reduce these risks to our employees.
Continuous Coating's NPEP Goal
In the past, lead was released through the rinse system to the waste treatment system. The sludge that was generated was sent to a landfill. Some lead was released into the zinc plating itself. Our goal was to change all lead anodes to zinc anodes. Not only would we be protecting the environment, but zinc has the added benefit of making the coating look more refined and even. By switching to zinc anodes, we were able to improve process efficiency by coating the anodes directly onto the strip. We also save money since we no longer have to buy lead sheets and time since we no longer have to use the lengthier TRI Form R.
NPEP Project Implementation
In the past, we would use about 70,000 lbs of lead per year for the lead anodes in our electro galvanizing line. When these deteriorated, the employees had to replace them with a new sheet; this involved forming, grinding and sanding for proper fitting and use. In order to switch to the zinc anodes, we had to do some equipment modification in the plating cells to fit the new anodes.
We also switched to more efficient tanks which have enabled us to reduce our electrical usage by 30%. Furthermore, we plan on recycling the zinc scrap by melting it and pouring it in a mold to make new zinc blocs. We are currently negotiating on a price for this by-product with a zinc smelter. In addition, we are looking into acquiring a new water recycling system that will take all the zinc out of the rinse water and put it back into the plating system.
Hurdles Faced
This process change took almost a year. It required changing out all 10 of our tanks without interrupting production. The biggest hurdle faced was convincing employees that the zinc anodes would be just as efficient as the lead anodes and getting them used to changing the zinc anodes every month and a half.
Waste Minimization Results
The end result is that we reduced the use of 70,000 pounds of lead per year while improving the quality of our products and increasing process efficiency. This resulted in three primary benefits: 1) not having to purchase anymore lead; 2) not having to worry about the environmental problems posed by the release of the lead; and 3) becoming RoHS compliant which as broadened our customer base. Supplemental benefits include: a 30% reduction in electrical usage while coating even more square feet of product. With the $80,000 rebate we received from Edison for the electrical savings, we estimate a payback period of 16 months for the entire project.
Lessons Learned
In conclusion, we learned that the old way is not always the best way. Organizations shouldn’t be afraid of trying new technologies or something different, especially when both process efficiency and marketing opportunities can be increased. Due to our company’s changes over the past 4 years – we have realized a savings of over a million dollars.