Innovation
Making it happen
How Andy Pastor got Ampex Metal Products on a green path to success
Smart Business Cleveland | February 2009
The times have not been easy for Ohio
manufacturers. So when the national economy began to unravel last fall, it would
have been easy for a company like Ampex
Metal Products to simply hunker down and
ride out the storm.
Instead, Andy Pastor and his employees
were already thoroughly engaged in a commitment to sustainability that began in 2006.
By going green, Ampex hopes to have found
a way to not only endure but to also
embrace new and vital business opportunities that will keep the metal component
manufacturer growing, says the company’s
president and CEO.
Ampex is embracing resource management, including energy usage and waste disposal, as the cornerstone of a green and sustainable business philosophy. The company
is significantly reducing its carbon footprint
through a three-pronged approach, which
includes waste stream management, energy
efficiency and renewable energy production.
Management of the waste stream through
reduction, reuse and recycling is both environmentally and fiscally astute.
Just as Ampex is in the business of transforming metal, numerous companies are
equally adept at transforming its scrap steel,
brass, aluminum, wood, cardboard, paper,
glass, plastics and equipment that is at the
end of its usefulness.
Employees have bought in to the recycling
of waste that they would otherwise throw
away each day. This has resulted in a reduction in waste disposal costs of $5,400 and
has actually generated more than $1,000 in
revenue from recycled products.
The company itself has also committed to
recycling its skids, pallets and cardboard,
and it also aggressively lobbied its suppliers
to reclaim wire racks, spools and steel coil
plastic spacers.
The effort came about in large part as a
response to consumers who are demanding
greener goods and services and are looking
for products that will be made with an eye toward the environment.
Pastor and his leadership team admit that
being involved in manufacturing continues
to be a tough business, particularly in
Northeast Ohio.
But Ampex’s leaders believe there are
opportunities to be found through innovation, and these opportunities can help control costs and produce a product that is not
only good for the company’s bottom line but
also good for the planet we all call home.
HOW TO REACH: Ampex Metal Products, (216) 267-9242 or
www.ampexmetal.com
