Hoffer Plastics
Before and after
The meaning of sustainability for Hoffer has evolved significantly, as Stoffel explains: “Before it was about reusing as much plastic as possible, and our focus lay on a regrind standpoint rather than an environmental one. In 1991, we developed our electricity generation plant to help support the business.”
In 2007, Hoffer Plastics turned its attention to sustainability in its environmental sense, looking at everything from packaging materials to cans in the vending machines.
Sustainability for the company starts from the basics. The question that drives its everyday operations is: what equipment can produce parts more efficiently?
“By investing in efficient equipment, we have significantly saved on carbon emissions. Whether it’s a new press, a heater or a cooler, we can save between 30% and 50%. For presses, we can also produce more parts in less time, helping us save electricity”, Stoffel says.
The company invests on average 5% of the sales revenue every year in its facilities. A big part of this goes into the injection moulding presses. Hoffer also focuses on the parts and mould designs – the so-called ‘lightweighting’ process – working closely with their customers to replace as much plastic as possible in their parts while meeting the intended application.
“We worked on a component that had previously been designed with three separate parts. The process involved quite a bit of plastic, welding and secondary operations. Our design engineering team reduced it to one part, which was less time-consuming, more energy-efficient and lighter. We used less plastics and the mould didn’t have many additional materials."
Are we on the right path?
Sustainability has never been more important, and companies are under increasing pressure to create eco-friendly solutions. However, Stoffel thinks we shouldn’t get comfortable.
The company is involved in several organisations and zero landfill initiatives to educate and benchmark its efforts against best-in-class competitors.
It launched a facility upgrade to put additional filtration and recycle water more often before discharging it to the local utilities. This helped them reduce water usage by 50%. It changed all lighting to LED solutions, saving 1,203 metric tons of CO2. Hoffer has also implemented initiatives that equate to a 30% reduction in electrical consumption, as well as working with suppliers and customers to use resins with up to 30% of PCR materials.
Stoffel adds, ‘Our utility, ComEd, offers rebates. This is usually based upon the anticipated savings from the old to the new equipment, which allows us to get a rebate. Last year, we qualified for over $100,000 in rebates by purchasing energy-efficient equipment. We advocate for the federal and state government to support these programmes, whether through rebates or tax reductions.”
Looking ahead
Hoffer Plastics is focused on achieving lower carbon emissions and eventually being carbon neutral.
“We’re looking at replacing equipment, switching from propane to electric forklifts and investing in solar power. We’ve also hired a new Environmental and Sustainability specialist to reinforce the company’s commitment and dedication to sustainability.”
The path is long and tortuous, but Hoffer is certainly heading in the right direction.