A little over a year ago, the Brampton, Ontario manufacturing plant of Zochem realized that they had an opportunity to dramatically cut their facility’s water usage. The company, a major manufacturer of commercial zinc oxide powder and pellets, realized that there would be significant environmental and cost benefits if water usage could be reduced. So, a 12-month goal was set at a 33% water reduction. The results have exceeded expectations.
The steps needed to reach the goal started with an analysis of the company’s manufacturing process, as well as plant maintenance, identifying where waste may have been occurring. While the need for some equipment upgrades was identified, the biggest opportunity for water savings came from communicating the goal of cutting waste; and educating plant and maintenance personnel on best practices.
In virtually all of the company’s staff meetings, it reinforced the message of water conservation, as an integral part of their sustainability campaign. While manufacturing output has been similar to the prior year, the Zochem facility has consumed 58% less water on its site. General Manager Mohit Sharma stated that “through conservative measures, without impacting safety, quality, or productivity metrics, we’ve been able to greatly exceed our goal.”
Sharma continued, “we’ve always worked toward improving sustainability in the materials that we use in manufacturing and transportation. A reduction in water consumption is the latest way that Zochem has been able to our environmental footprint.”