About Tennant Company
Founded in 1870 by George H. Tennant, Tennant Company began as a one-man woodworking business, evolved into a successful wood flooring and wood products company, and eventually into a manufacturer of floor cleaning equipment. Throughout its history, Tennant has remained focused on advancing its industry by aggressively pursuing new technologies and creating a culture that celebrates innovation. Today, Tennant is a global leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world.
Tennant's Energy Story
Since 2007, Tennant's Holland, MI facility has been focused on reducing their carbon footprint, while continuing to produce a great product. One of the many initiatives Tennant has undertaken is to change the type of lighting in their facility. Recently, the Holland facility installed T8 florescent bulbs at a cost of $160,000. Since making the switch, Tennant has saved nearly $80,000 a year in energy costs and rather than replace the bulbs they once used every 2-years, the newly installed T8 bulbs have a 10-12 year life expectancy.
As a company that creates products that use water for cleaning purposes, Tennant has also found ways to reduce their water consumption from just over 4500 gallons of water to nearly 3000 gallons since 2007. Tennant has found a method to recycle the water that is used in the cooling stage once a mold has been removed from the production line. The water is reused for 30-days and then released.
Recently, Tennant hired a company to perform a air audit and the results of the audit recommended Tennant upgrade their air compressor. The recommendation was for a variable speed compressor that would speed up or slow down based on the demands of the production lines. Currently, the compressor within the facility is running at 90% capacity 24-hours a day, 6-days a week, regardless of demand. By upgrading their air compressor, Tennant will reduce their energy bill by $12,000 a year, thus reducing their carbon footprint.
As a company that creates products that use water for cleaning purposes, Tennant has also found ways to reduce their water consumption from just over 4500 gallons of water to nearly 3000 gallons since 2007. Tennant has found a method to recycle the water that is used in the cooling stage once a mold has been removed from the production line. The water is reused for 30-days and then released.
Recently, Tennant hired a company to perform a air audit and the results of the audit recommended Tennant upgrade their air compressor. The recommendation was for a variable speed compressor that would speed up or slow down based on the demands of the production lines. Currently, the compressor within the facility is running at 90% capacity 24-hours a day, 6-days a week, regardless of demand. By upgrading their air compressor, Tennant will reduce their energy bill by $12,000 a year, thus reducing their carbon footprint.
Something To Bring Home
What can you do? You can reuse and recycle materials from your business or household that can be made into other things. For example, instead of simply throwing materials away you can find new, innovative ways to repurpose those materials. You can also "recycle" energy at your work place or in your household. For example, you can use ceiling fans to create convection currents to help circulate the air to reduce heating bills. These are very simple, energy efficient ways to lessen your carbon footprint.
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This business uses fans to recycle heat.
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Tennant iMovie from Zachary Alderink on Vimeo.