CASE STUDY No. 9706
KEY WORDS PRINTING PLANTS; PAPER, INK WASTE; ROLL ENDS, CORES
Sullivan Graphics, Inc.
810 E. South Street
Marengo, IA 52301-0248
Contact: Randy M. Fry, Maintenance Manager.
Tel: 319-642-7311, ext. 246. Fax: 319-642-3071.
Summary
By reusing paper cores, paper roll cover pieces, and waste ink, and through process scheduling changes, a commecial printing plant reduces solid waste by 75 tons a year and realizes savings of $80,000.
Action
Sullivan Graphics, Inc., is a commercial printing company with 22 locations in the United States and Canada, sales of $500 million, and a payroll of 2,200. Its primary products are newspaper advertising inserts, books, and publications. In 1994, the Marengo plant was a recipient of the Iowa Governor's award for waste reduction.
The company has implemented a number of waste reduction programs, the most significant of which is a "Strategic Scheduling" process to reduce the waste associated with making presses ready to run new jobs. The process has reduced waste of paper, ink, and related printing items by an overall 5%, yielding savings of about $70,000. Other improvements:
Incoming rolls of printing paper arrive with heavy duty fiber cores and metal end-caps. Cores previously were discarded. Now they are returned to the supplier mill (at no cost to Sullivan) for reuse, or they are sold to other paper roll producers. Some 75 tons of these items are reused each year, avoiding substantial landfill costs. Revenue from sales is about $800.
Protective roll ends and covers from incoming paper, formerly disposed of as waste material, now are used for several purposes: as floor covering in areas of potential ink spills, avoiding the use of printing paper for that purpose, or the purchasse of special floor covering; as a substitute for chipboard to separate layers on skids for some jobs; as protective tops for skidded copies in place of purchased tops. This initiative saves an estimated $7,500 annually.
Due to changes in pressroom procedures, Sullivan has reduced the amount of blanket wash and other solvents in the ink. This has allowed the ink to be reclassified as nonhazardous. In 1992, 236 55-gallon drums were disposed at a cost of $12,030. This cost was cut further in 1994 when Sullivan began sending ink to an outside contractor for regrinding and mixing with new ink for reuse, a step that has reduced ink waste 24.7% and reduced disposal costs an additional $2,975. Ink waste was further reduced by fitting the central ink system pumps with reservoirs to catch the ink that is bled from feed lines to remove air locks when ink totes are changed. Previously, ink removed from the system during air bleeding was scrapped.
All reusable incoming pallets are repaired and reused for outbound freight. Unrepairable pallets are sent to another company, at no cost to Sullivan, for use as boiler fuel.
Payback
Since no capital investment was required to make any of the changes noted above, payback was immediate.
Other benefits
Use of roll ends and covers in high spill areas has reduced tracking, improving the
appearance of the plant and reducing the risk of falls.