A Green Foundry?

In a time of declining sales, SA Baxter, a manufacturer of high-end architectural hardware, had its best Q4 ever. And is so often the case these days, a company that is doing well is also doing "good."

SA Baxter's foundry, based in New York's Hudson Valley, is eco-friendly. How friendly you might ask? Well its foundry emits less carbon over an entire year than a fraction of the average small car. Not impressed? The company has Zero Discharge of any solid waste into the local waste water system.

Scott Baxter explains how he can achieve all of this. First of all he says that what he does at his foundry, isn't done elsewhere.

When building the foundry he considered all aspects of its environmental impact. He analyzed how the byproducts and manufacturing process would affect the air, the water and his employees.

He then implemented systems and processes that produce low emissions, no discharge into area water and chose materials, such as lead-free brass, that would protect employees from airborne pollution.

All of the company's products are lead-free making SA Baxter the only company to manufacture lead free hardware products in its industry.

His customers appreciate his effort. "When people are weighing their decision on what to purchase, the fact that my company is green' is a definite advantage. It can be the decisive factor in some cases. And customers are willing to pay a higher price if they know a company is environmentally responsible."

Baxter would also like to see a global standard when it comes to product quality and environmental integrity. "It would certainly be good for U.S. manufacturing if the playing field was level when it comes to maintaining production standards."