Kent Elastomer Products’ (kentelastomer.com) extrusion facility in Mogadore, OH, has been honored as a Summit of Sustainability (summitofsustainability.org) award winner for 2013. Awards are given in conjunction with the City of Akron, Summit County, Keep Akron Beautiful, Greater Akron Chamber and ReWorks.

Winners showcase the best examples of sustainability pertaining to commercial energy efficiency, waste reduction and employee engagement. Kent Elastomer Products was awarded in the category Mid-size Companies with 25 to 249 employees.

In a five-year period, Kent Elastomer’s Mogadore facility:

• Reduced garbage dumpster loads from five per week to one.
• Reduced annual water use from 1.7 million gallons to 280,000, an 84% reduction.
• Reduced electricity use by 13%.
• Cut isopropyl alcohol usage from 917 gallons monthly to 525 gallons. (Isopropyl alcohol is a crucial part of the extrusion process.)

Other initiatives have reduced scrap from the manufacturing process and eliminated 55,000 kilowatts per year.

Employees are active participants in redefining Kent Elastomer’s culture as one of sustainability, holding monthly meetings, offering their ideas and taking ownership of the process.

“Employees are the true experts in their jobs,” says Greg Graham, extrusion manager. “Now, they are involved throughout the improvement process, from originating an idea to implementing and sustaining the change.”