Hexel Projects: Members: Clean Utah

Hexcel Plant-wide Recycling Project

Hexcel recycled 1.6 million pounds in 2004. By 2007, its recycling program had grown and employees recycled 5 million pounds of paper, pallets, poly film, cardboard, drums and other items.

The benefit to the environment included a reduction in materials being sent to the landfill. The benefit to the company was $235,672 in annual savings.

Hexcel has also implemented a “use as is” methylene chlorine recycling program. Rather than just using the chemical once and then sending it off for incineration, it is reused. This has resulted in a total savings for $26,275.

Hexcel Plant-wide Steam Consumption Reduction Project

Hexcel used approximately 33,500,000 lbs. of steam in 2005. Producing that quantity required 5,020,000 gallons of water and 3,865,000 cubic feet of natural gas. The company recognized that its steam consumption was inefficient and proposed, in 2006, to reduce its plant-wide steam consumption by 10 percent. Meeting that goal would have cut water and natural gas consumption by 502,000 gallons and 386,500 cubic feet respectively.

The goal was actually exceeded and 648,000 gallons of water were saved along with 6,448, 957 cubic feet of natural gas which was not burned, keeping 389 tons of CO2 out of the air. This was accomplished by conducting a plant-wide steam survey, eliminating heat tracing, insulating approximately 100 equivalent feet of exposed piping and abandoning a building. The annual savings as a result of these changes is $60,900 annual savings to the company.