At the NSK Precision America factory on the northern edge of Franklin, nearly nothing goes to waste.
Everything from where mop water goes to how garbage and scraps are disposed of is planned to keep any waste to a minimum. The plant where employees manufacture motion-control pieces has a system in place to ensure the environmental impact of the company is continually shrinking.
The effort earned the plant entry into the Environmental Stewardship Program, a select group of 57 Indiana companies meeting standards of environmental protection set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. To enter the program, NSK was required to meet regulatory compliance in relation to spill/storm water and air permits, maintain an environmental management system and continually reduce its carbon footprint.
Next, the company aims to implement a solar-powered water heaters and is planning solar-powered outdoor lighting as an alternative.
2017 was a landmark year for NSK in achieving that status, as the company not only replaced all incandescent bulbs at the plant with LED bulbs, but also introduced a system to clean water dirtied at the plant.
The unit recycles and filters oily mop water, keeping it out of the ground and saving the company an estimated $23,000 in water bills. Once the water goes through the unit, it is returned to mop buckets soapy, clean and ready for mop use. With the water recycling process, the company also reduces CO2 from vehicles.
Instead of going to landfills, cardboard and plastic are taken to Indianapolis where they are dumped into an incinerator that converts waste to energy, NSK Precision America Environmental Health and Safety Specialist David Deguch said. Metal scraps are taken by a recycling company.
These processes have helped NSK become a 99 percent recycling facility with goals of being entirely landfill free.
In addition to public recognition, NSK will have extra networking opportunities to discuss environmental strategy with other companies.
NSK is a Japanese-based manufacturing company with locations in six continents that opened its Franklin plant in 1993. The plant currently employs 195 workers.
