Heartland Business Bank

June 2005

WISCONSIN ALUMINUM FOUNDRY COMPANY, INC. RECOGNIZED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS

Kory Brockman, WAF Vice President of Finance; Jim Behnke, WAF Human Resources Manager; and Pamela Dekker, HBB Senior Vice President

Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Company, Inc. (WAF) was recently bestowed two honors for an environmentally friendly process implemented at the company. WAF was awarded a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Environmental Performance during the Environmental Technologists ENVIRONMENT ’05 Conference. Most recently the company was recognized as a 2005 Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award Winner by The Wisconsin Environmental Working Group and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

WAF was established in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1909 by the Schwartz family to produce non-ferrous castings. The company remains family owned today with nearly 400 employees.

WAF was recognized for two reclamation projects implemented at their facility. In August 2001, WAF installed a mechanical reclamation system into which large chunks of spent core are loaded. The system then mechanically grinds the cores down to sand granules to extract the steel hooks, iron chills, and tramp aluminum which is then either reused or recycled. After grinding, the sand still contains residual organic binders adhered to the sand particles. In 2004, the company installed a Thermal Reclaim unit to reclaim and reuse the core sand. The sand is conveyed to the thermal unit where it is heated to a temperature high enough to degrade the organic binder and combust volatile organic compounds that may be formed during the thermal degradation process. Particulate matter generated during the process is captured by a fabric filter and collected for disposal.

The thermally reclaimed sand is better performing than the virgin sand. The reclaimed sand requires less organic binder and produces a better surface finish on the castings, resulting in better product quality. The castings also require less finishing and reduces labor costs.

Since July 2004, the reclamation system has recovered nearly 13 million pounds of sand. WAF estimates it will reduce sand purchases by nearly 20 million pounds per year. This equates to an annual reduction of 20 million pounds of waste that would otherwise be shipped and sent to landfills. The process has enabled the company to recover approximately 960,000 pounds of metal per year, and the reclaimed sand has resulted in a reduction of organic binder.

The project has resulted in cost savings of $436,000 per year, giving it a competitive advantage and enabling the creation of nine new jobs at the plant. The payback period for the Reclaim unit is approximately 18 months.