The Costco Connection - October 2013

efforts, here are a few of the ways they cut down their footprint at the Millville plant.

Emissions reduction. Over the last year,
newly installed emissions scrubbers reduced the
plant’s primary emissions by 75 percent. This
move surpassed every environmental regula-
tion, making it the cleanest glass-manufactur-
ing facility of its kind in the world,
“Inside our system we have filters that
trap particulates. Ammonia and sorbent
material is injected into the filtration
system while air is pulsed periodically to
continually clean the filters. Our filters
have a special treatment that causes a
chemical reaction with the ammonia,
radically reducing the nitrogen oxides.”
Kontes says this $40 million investment
also helped expand the plant’s production
capacity. “It has been challenging and costly
at times to implement some of the greener
processes. It takes a lot of time and coordina-
tion, but it is well worth it and we are proud
of what we have accomplished so far,” he says.

Waste-heat recovery. The Millville plant’s three furnaces burn at 3,000 F, giving off a lot of scorching heat. Rather than being released into the air, the heat exhausted from the furnace is used to heat incoming furnace air. This process aids in more efficient combustion, reducing emissions and energy usage.

Recycled glass. After production, unused or waste glass, called cullet, is mixed with raw materials to create new batches of glass. “Within our batch, depending on what we’re making at the time, between 15 and 40 percent is always postproduction waste glass,” Kontes tells The Connection. Incorporating cullet helps lower furnace temperatures, reducing energy consumption by 5 to 10 percent.

Organic inks. Forty-five percent of Luminarc’s decorated glassware is embellished using organic inks, which are free of heavy metals. Kontes says the ovens don’t have to be as hot or

Luminarc leads the way in green-sensitive manufacturing By Hana Medina

MAKING GLASS CAN be an environmentally harmful process: Emissions from the glass-melting furnace can release carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants into the air, damaging the atmosphere. That fact is a key reason Costco buyers were impressed by glassware manufacturer Luminarc, a global company aimed at innovating cleaner manufacturing processes while bringing top-quality glassware to consumers.

Luminarc is a brand of family-owned Arc International, the largest tabletop glassware producer in the world. Luminarc produces glass dinnerware, drinkware, mixing bowls, measuring cups, pitchers and food-storage containers. Arc’s proprietary formulas led to the development of Kwarx and Diamax, break-resistant, dishwasher-safe fine crystal totally free of any heavy metals typically associated with crystal.

Most Luminarc glassware sold in U.S. Costco warehouses is made in their Millville, New Jersey, plant, which produces 1 million pieces of glassware a day. That figure is included in the 6 million total pieces manufactured daily in Arc facilities in France, China, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

With all of that production, Arc keeps energy consumption and green efforts at the forefront, a practice the company initiated with early recycling efforts in the 1920s. In 2003, Philippe Durand, Arc’s principal owner at the time, who had a strong commitment to social and industrial issues, led Arc to sign the United Nations Global Compact, which, among many initiatives, promised a deeper commitment to protecting the environment. While every Arc facility engages in green

Where the

glass is greener

bake as long as with other inks to cure and bond the ink to the glass, resulting in further energy savings.

Packaging reduction. Luminarc consumes a lot of cardboard to decrease breakage. To reduce their needs, they have engineered compact and durable packaging, using recycled cardboard when they can. The effort also lowers transportation costs, fuel and emissions. “You’re able to fit more [of our] packages on a truck, so you don’t have to move as many trucks across the country,” explains Kontes.

Other workplace initiatives include the conversion of 74 percent of their forklift fleet to rechargeable electric models, online document sharing and single-stream recycling.

While Arc has already paved a green path for the industry, Tom Reed, vice president of Arc’s human resources department, says they continue to look for more eco-friendly effi-ciencies. “[Sustainability] is a forever journey for us, but it’s one we’re excited about. We’re working at it every day to get better,” he says. “We have the structure in place from an organizational standpoint and the support from our business to continue doing that.” C

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARC INTERNATIONAL

SUPPLIER PROFILE

Company: Arc International

Founder/owners: Established in 1825 by Alexandre des Lyons de Noircarme; owned by the Durand family since 1926

Employees: 12,200 worldwide

Address (U.S.):

601 S. Wade Blvd., Millville, NJ 08332

Phone: 1-800-257-7470

Email: donna.muller@arc-intl.com

Website: www.arc-na.com

Items at Costco: 20-piece drinkware set; various items rotate throughout the year.

Comments about Costco: “Costco is very supportive of companies that make products in the USA, and we like that they work with companies that are involved in sustainable actions. We’re definitely one of those companies.”