PFINZTAL, Germany--As carbon fiber-reinforced plastics continue to become major components of aircraft, it’s increasing the need for sustainable recycling concepts.
CUPERTINO, CA—Apple Inc. has developed a large-scale robotic line to disassemble returned iPhones. The line’s 29 free-standing robotic arms remove SIM card trays, screws, batteries, cameras and other parts for recycling.
Manufacturers are pursuing a wide variety of “green” initiatives, such as energy-efficient lighting, landfill gas, recycling, solar panels and wind turbines. In fact, more than one-half of our 2014 State of the Profession respondents claim their plant has implemented green-related programs during the past 12 months. That’s a 3 percentage point increase over 2013 and 8 percentage points higher than 2012.
WATERLOO, WI—One year after piloting the bike industry’s first carbon fiber recycling program, Trek Bicycle has recovered more than 31,750 kilograms of material from its manufacturing facility here.
KYLE, TX—Image Microsystems plans to build a new factory here to turn electronic waste into substrate material for street and highway signs. The plant could create more than 180 jobs in the next two years.
BACE, a manufacturer of heavy duty balers and compactors for use in the recycling and waste management industry, has added 26,000 square feet of space to its assembly plant here to support record growth in 2011.
In addition to using the latest lean manufacturing principles, Boeing's new 787 assembly plant is one of the greenest factories in the aerospace industry.
Having a zero landfill plant is great for automakers, but it isn’t something they can achieve on their own. Tier 1 suppliers, waste-retrieval companies and vendors all play an important supporting role. One such vendor is Orbis Corp. which, for the past several decades, has helped various automakers become zero landfill by supplying their Tier 1 suppliers with reusable containers.
Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. became the first zero landfill auto plant in the United States in 2004, but it wasn’t long before many other automakers followed SIA’s example, including General Motors. Other automakers, like BMW MC in Greer, SC, are on the path to becoming zero landfill.