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GAGE IS COMMITTED TO
SOLVENT RECYCLING
FERNDALE, Mich., --
Technology that has helped save the auto industry tens
of millions of dollars will be on display at Gage Products
Company’s exhibit at this year’s Michigan Chemistry
Council’s annual meeting and legislative reception May
17 in Lansing, Michigan.
Gage is a pioneer in the recycling
of industrial solvents used in the automotive industry
and is best known for a trend-setting paint-solvent
recovery program developed by the company 20 years ago.
In that time, Gage has produced more than 90 million
gallons of remanufactured solvent for its automotive
customers.
More than 30 North American
automotive assembly plants now rely on Gage for the
management of their paint-system waste materials.
Last
year alone Gage recycled more than four-million gallons
of paint-system waste material from assembly plants
in North America. “We’ve saved the auto industry millions
of dollars, while improving the environment at the same
time,” a Gage spokesman notes. “Gage is dedicated to responsible resource
management that results in long-term benefits for our
environment as well as our customers,” Dixon notes.
Since its inception, Gage
has invested more than $5 million at its Ferndale facilities
to continually improve and expand its closed-loop manufacturing
processes.
The innovative closed-loop
recycling process pioneered by Gage and Ford in 1984
is now used at more than 30 automotive assembly plants
in the U.S. and Canada.
The Gage technology has helped
automakers recover millions of gallons of paint solvent
and recoverable solids with other commercial values.
And it also has significantly reduced the cost of assembly-plant
paint operations and has reduced the percentage of solid
waste in those paint systems by 50 percent.
Gage is reaffirming its commitment
to environmental leadership by participating in two
key events this month. Along with the exhibit at this
year’s Michigan Chemistry Council, the company also
participated in Tenth Annual West Michigan Sustainable
Business Conference and Expo in Grand Rapids earlier
this month.
In the last 15 years at Ford
alone, the program has eliminated nearly 225-million
pounds of hazardous landfill material and 450-million
pounds of CO2 emissions that would have resulted if
Ford’s paint-system waste had been incinerated.
Today, Gage collects used purge
solvents and paint in tank trucks and transports them
to its processing facilities in Ferndale. The company
then conducts a detailed analysis of the waste to help
monitor and improve the efficiency of automaker paint
operations. Solid waste contained in the liquid material
is removed for use in cement kilns as a clean-burning
fuel that substitutes for pulverized coal. Gage distills
and refines the remaining liquid into pure solvent,
which it delivers to the originating assembly plant
for reuse.
In addition to its solvent-recovery
products, Gage has supplied custom-blended solvents,
test fuels, calibration fluids and refined products
to the automotive industry during its 68 years. Its
products are used in OEM assembly, engine, and component
plants and throughout the industry’s supply chain. It
is the auto industry’s only Michigan-based supplier
of custom-blended gasoline fuels and calibration fluids.
Gage's automotive customers
include DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors,
Honda, Jaguar, Nissan, Peugeot, Volkswagen and Volvo.
The firm also has supplier alliances with a number of
major paint suppliers and pharmaceutical companies in
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and South
America.
Headquartered in Ferndale,
Mich., since 1936, the company also has facilities in
Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Gage’s fully licensed Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities refine
waste and “off-spec” solvent streams to original product
specifications. Gage also has earned ISO 9001 and ISO
14001 certification.
The private company currently
employs nearly 100 at its 9.5-acre global headquarters
facilities in Ferndale and another 60 employees at engineering
support and sales offices in the rest of the Americas
and Europe.
Gage is dedicated to effective
and responsible resource management, which provides
long-term environmental benefits. The firm is a charter
member of the Southeastern Michigan Sustainable Business
Forum and a participant in Ford Motor Company’s Project
Heritage program.
Company
Contact:
Company Contact:Tom Murray of Gage Products Company, Phone: 248-691-6737, Email: tmurray@gageproducts.com
Media Contact:
Jen Howell
AutoCom Associates
Phone: 248.647.8621
E-Mail: jhowell@usautocom.com
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