November 12, 2007 -- When Wal-Mart decided to replace its traditional blue employee vests, it asked Sustainable Solutions Inc. of Wagoner to figure out how to recycle those fibers into Christmas cards for America's war veterans.
Partnering with Hallmark, SSI got it done in less than 90 days.
" Wal-Mart paid for everything because they wanted to make sure it went to good use," said Cynthia Mabrey, corporate communications manager for SSI.
That reflects but one case file from a growing reputation for industrial waste reutilization programs. The private Wagoner company led by founder and President K. Joy Nunn now sells its full-loop services at four offices around the globe. To meet rising demand, SSI will soon expand its Wagoner plant's mechanization and work force.
The efforts come at some risk, as the driving cost issues that still confront today's growing "green" movement can spur customers to walk away from the table at about any time. But Mabrey said the company draws strength from a simple economic truth: It costs manufacturers as much to make waste as it does to make their main products. So why not find a way to recycle that waste to provide other materials or fit other needs?
"If you're using your own waste streams, obviously you've got a financial incentive right there," she said.
SSI helps clients assess their industrial waste options, determine how to turn that waste into a product component, and then engineer and deliver that product. It has produced boxes made of denim fibers for Staples, wine bottle holders for Marks & Spencer and regenerated rubber for Nike.
"We're about five years ahead of everyone else," said Mabrey.
SSI operates three divisions to meet its customer needs.
SSIblue works as the assessment arm, studying the customer's systems and procedures to see just how much waste it generates, what value is in that waste stream (which SSI call SmartStream), and how it could be used. The division does this while demonstrating its traceability, visibility and proof of sustainability.
"Most manufacturers are not doing anything on post-industrial waste," said Mabrey, noting a fact that can sometimes kill deals. "You assume companies know how much waste they're making and how much their landfill costs are, and they often don't. Waste is embarrassing and so nobody wants to admit how much they have. But if they realize it's a gold mine, then we get full disclosure."
SSIblue then helps the customer determine how this could be cost- effectively recycled into a new or existing product. If the customer chooses to go forward, the engineers and design specialists at SSItech step in to figure out how to make it all work at competitive prices.
If the customer approves these steps, the work advances to SSImfg, which turns the prototype goods into reality, all at Sustainable Solution's 190,000-square-foot plant in Wagoner.
The three-year-old company, which last year received new capital investment from Meriturn Partners, Capricorn Management and others, is installing up to $2 million in new machine tools and manufacturing devices by the end of December. It also expects to expand its work force to 50 by the end of this year while adding another 25 to 30 employees next year, all to meet increased client demand while maintaining its client exclusivity and integrity.
"At this point, we're just trying to wrap our arms around whatever we've been already asked to do," said Mabrey.
Sustainable Solutions has a few dozen customers just getting started with their assessment process, said Mabrey. Another dozen have advanced through the process into the early stages of product development.
Such efforts require a great deal of adaptability, a quality four- year-old Sustainable Solutions has demonstrated. The Wagoner private company traces its roots back to 1995, when as Advantage Manufacturing it recycled waste denim into U-Haul industrial blankets. Learning how to adapt its systems to other fibers and applications brought a name change to Environmental Textiles. That continued development led to its 2004 reorganization as Sustainable Solutions.
Besides its industrial waste options, Mabrey said the company has several other avenues for growth.
To aid its product development, SSI helped establish the United Sustainability Authority Consortium, a waste exchange where participants can see what "SmartStreams" they may find available to tap.
Mabrey said SSI's research and development efforts also have secured several patents for producing fibers, fabrics, woods, even leather, from industrial waste. From these have emerged new products that offer a variety of potential commercial applications, like Thermold, a non-woven material that's proven thermally and electrically insulative, and Urbanwood, a board product made from old pallets that combines lower weight with increased strength.
While she credits the work of their engineers for several successes, Mabrey enjoys telling how that many of their employees, including Nunn, have no such background. That hasn't kept Nunn or others from playing a major role in all the processes, including re- engineering the company's machinery.
"As far as product development, much of it has come from divine inspiration, and not just from Joy," said Mabrey. "It is part of our daily operation here. The majority of our staff are Christians. I think that is one of the reasons we've been able to accomplish what no one has accomplished before."
Source: The Journal Record
