Americhem’s Environmental Efforts

Since 2008, Americhem has had an active approach to become an environmentally friendly company. We set and accomplish our goals by changes in how our business operates, the products we provide and the technologies we develop. Environmental responsibility is a key element in our company principles, and we are always trying to better ourselves to follow through with our commitment to our people, the public and the environment.

Office Improvements

• We have made big changes at our plants and in our offices where there are many opportunities to continue to improve.
• Implemented recycling programs at all of our locations for polymer waste, cans, bottles, paper and items such as ink cartridges.
• Installed light switch sensors and high efficiency lighting across our US plant network.
• Departments such as accounting and purchasing made an effort to go paperless by using systems such as the automated clearing house (ACH).
• Americhem corporate offices have solar tubes in the ceilings, increasing the use of natural light and reducing electrical consumption.

ISO 14001 Certification

The ISO 14001 standard certifies that companies follow a specific framework to help reduce negative impact on the environment. Our plant located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio has been ISO 14001 certified for a year and we have a goal to certify all of our plants in the future, starting with our plant in Suzhou, China in 2016.

In Our Plants

We identified a list of potential changes when we evaluated our plants. All of our plants are working towards zero landfill input, which is a work in progress but a goal that we see as possible. At our plants, we use recirculating cooling systems (chillers) to cool many different pieces of equipment. The heat absorbed from the process must be dissipated to allow reuse of the water so cooling towers/chillers are used for this purpose. They save us from using a lot of city water that normally would be wasted once used in processing.

Eco-Friendly Products

Another way that we reduce environmental impact is through products such as nBalance™ sustainable solutions and solution dyeing technology.

• 31 of our American PET colorants received Oeko Tex certification for synthetic fibers in Europe.
• nBalance - a mix of color and additive masterbatches that are designed to reduce consumption of natural resources and use minimal energy in manufacturing and distribution.
• Solution Dye Process - enhances your fiber production by coloring and spinning fiber in just one step. It also requires less water and eliminates the need for downstream equipment.

We also make hundreds of unique masterbatches for building products that do not require on-site applied materials, such as paint and stain. We help create products that contain recycled materials, giving you consistent results with more environmentally-friendly materials. We also help reduce the yellowness characteristics of recycled polymer streams.

Go Green with Americhem

With Americhem, you have a partner that not only provides you with state-of-the-art color and additive masterbatches, but also one that can help you limit your impact on the environment. Call us today at 1-800-228-3476 or contact us online to see the Americhem difference for yourself.

 

Aubrey Barto

Marketing Assistant, Americhem