Hager Companies: Finding New Ways to do Business that Also Minimize Environmental Impact

ST. LOUIS, MO – Hager Companies, a leading manufacturer of commercial door hardware, has recently taken steps to minimize their organization's impact on the environment.

MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Hager's manufacturing plant located in Montgomery, Alabama, features an advanced wastewater pre-treatment facility that removes 98.5% of the soluble metals generated during manufacturing processes. In fact, this treatment facility is so effective it was named "Treatment Plant of the Year" in 2002 by the Alabama Water Environment Association.

The facility separates the wastewaters generated in order to minimize the chemicals needed for treatment operations and to permit recycling of certain materials. Lubricants from the fabrication operations are separated from the water in Hager's wastewater treatment facility, and are then sent out for recycling; solids from the plating operations are removed through a wastewater clarifier, pressed into "filter cake," then sent out for additional processing to be disposed of as non-hazardous waste.

The facility has implemented advanced filtration and ION exchange technologies in wastewater operations that produce water so clean similar technologies were implemented in production operations. Filtration units have been installed on facility processes that have extended the useful life of some solutions from one week to a useful life of more than one year. Hager is also currently conducting feasibility studies for a reverse osmosis system that would eliminate the need for the Montgomery plant to discharge any water at all into the city's municipal system.

Hager's Montgomery plant has also achieved…
- 68.2% overall reduction in water usage (1998-2007);
- 87% reduction in soluble metals in wastewater (1998-2007);
- 40,127,000 fewer gallons of water used per year;
- 65.1 % overall reduction in hazardous waste (2001-2007);
- Facility lighting switched to fluorescent lighting, resulting in significant energy savings;
- Ongoing recycling programs for scrap metals and corrugated products;
- New environmentally friendlier finishes implemented and in development.

CORPORATE INITIATIVES

In another effort to reduce the company's environmental impact, Hager now uses product packaging that contains 20% recycled content. Hager has also joined forces with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and its certified printing companies to produce the company's marketing materials. The FSC is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests, and sets high standards to ensure that forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable way.

"Our association with the FSC led us to rethink the paper stocks on which to print our marketing materials," said Donnell Seibert, Hager's Vice President of Marketing and Product Development.

"For example, simply by choosing a new paper made with certified renewable energy and containing 10% post-consumer waste fiber for one of our company's larger brochures, we were able to save 15 trees, consume 5,455 gallons less of wastewater flow, save 10,000,000 BTUs of energy, prevent 1,664 lbs. net greenhouse gases, and generate 903 fewer pounds of solid waste."

"On a smaller scale," Seibert continued, "Hager employees are recycling paper and other items here at our company's headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as at our other offices nationwide. We believe that every step we can take, no matter how large or small, is a good step in helping to preserve our environment for generations to come. And we encourage everyone to look for ways to do the same."

Founded in 1849, St. Louis-based Hager Companies continues its more than 150-year history of providing quality and innovation in the door hardware industry. For additional information, visit www.hagerco.com.