PPG, NATM Honor CAM Superline with 2016 Green Manufacturing Award

March 10, 2016
PPG Commercial Coatings and the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) honored CAM Superline with the 2016 Green Manufacturing Award. 

PPG Commercial Coatings and the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) honored CAM Superline with the 2016 Green Manufacturing Award. 

Based in Waynesboro, Pa., CAM Superline manufactures dumper trailers for the construction and excavating industries.

The Green Manufacturing Award honors the NATM member with the year’s best solution or innovation that has a positive impact on the environment. This may include improvements in material utilization, design advancement, process or equipment enhancements, emissions reductions, recycling methods and other environmentally sensitive areas. CAM Superline earned the 2016 award by adopting several green technologies and practices that reduced the impact on the environment and helped lower costs. Steps CAM Superline took included:

  • Upgrading to energy-efficient lighting for its manufacturing facility
    • Inside: moving to T5 high bay fluorescent lighting from 400-watt mercury-vapor lighting;
    • Outside: moving to high-efficiency LED lighting with daylight sensors and property lights;
    • Energy costs were cut in half.
  • Eliminating use of a contaminant pre-paint wash
    • A pre-paint wash containing phosphate and molybdenum was replaced with an environmentally acceptable zirconium wash. Phosphate and molybdenum in wastewater negatively affect the Chesapeake Bay watershed; chemicals entering the bay can harm humans and hurt the survival, growth and reproduction of fish and wildlife.
    • In addition, operational efficiencies reduced the use of the zirconium-based wash by 28 percent over the last two years.
  • Decreasing VOC emissions
    • Emissions from paint processes have declined by 1,808.80 pounds between 2013 and 2015, despite a 15 percent increase in trailer production.
  • Implementing recycling programs throughout the company
    • All cardboard, paper, wood, steel, used toner cartridges and skids are collected and sent out for recycling purposes. Reusable skid material is used throughout production storage areas and for shipping purposes.
  • Cultivating land
    • Land not part of the company’s operations is now used to farm sorghum, a high-energy, drought-tolerant crop for livestock feed. Sorghum requires one third less water for production compared to other feedstocks.

With the noted changes in its operations, CAM Superline earned the 2016 Green Manufacturing Award. A cash gift that the winner may donate to a charitable organization is part of the award. CAM Superline chose St. Jude’s Research Hospital. Based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude’s is one of the world's premier centers for research and treatment of catastrophic diseases in children.

Ron Yarnell, PPG OEM sales manager, states that the Green Manufacturing Award was established to encourage NATM members to implement ecologically sound programs. Award contenders must present case studies that demonstrate improved, ecologically conscious performance in their operations. Entrants are also required to provide documentation of the green initiatives they have implemented. Entries are judged by the NATM executive committee.

“We at PPG believe that we have a responsibility to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment,” said Yarnell. “When we see a company like CAM Superline make significant improvements in the way it works, and those improvements benefit the environment, then we know our commitment and our investment in the Green Manufacturing Award is the right thing to do.”

Yarnell also pointed out that the Green Manufacturing Award has become the trailer industry’s most important annual charitable event. This year, several trailer-related companies—Optronics International, Dexter Axle, the Carlstar Group and Champion Hoist—joined major sponsor PPG in supporting the award.