Team green

Talan owner and CEO Steve Peplin attends clean energy manufacturing and policy roundtable to support green initiatives

Talan CEO Steve Peplin recently joined U.S. Rep. David P. Joyce (OH-14) and several Cleveland-area manufacturers that serve the clean energy industry for a clean energy manufacturing and policy roundtable at American Roll Form Products (ARF). The roundtable was held at ARF’s Painesville, Ohio, headquarters on Aug. 4, 2015.

Clean energy manufacturing is important to Talan, and the green ideology is one that the company shares with many of its customers.

“I know that our customers really like that we’re green – especially the young ones,” said Peplin. “Many of our customers in the solar industry entered into the space for ideological reasons, so the fact that we’re so green aligns with their interests and beliefs.”

Other roundtable participants included John Colm of WIRE-Net, Dewey Lockwood of Fabricating Solutions, Joshua Perkins, Rob Touzalin and Phil Misch, all of American Roll Form Products, and Mark Gorenc of The Dyson Corp.

Talan leaders and employees are continuously looking for opportunities to implement new sustainability initiatives and improve energy efficiency at Talan’s plants and offices. The company is in the midst of a zero waste-to-landfill initiative to capture and recycle 100 percent of its daily in-plant and office consumables, including paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and electronics waste. Talan already has a comprehensive program to recycle all of the offal, or scrap, from its facilities.

Peplin said in addition to it being the right thing to do, being green is economical when it is done the right way.

“Everyone likes suppliers who are cost-effective and efficient,” Peplin said. “One of the greenest initiatives we’ve ever completed is when we rehabbed our old, empty building. The amount of energy saved by fixing up an old building and making it functional is incredible.”

At the roundtable, Joyce applauded such efforts and said they are critical to supporting U.S. manufacturing, competitiveness and innovation, and the job creation that comes with them.

“Northeast Ohio manufacturers are on the ground making things happen,” Joyce said. “We have to use every arrow in our quiver to support them, including renewing the wind and solar production tax credits, because it means a lot of business for the region. And the faster we can do that, the more stability we create in the world.”

Talan is leading the way in those efforts. Reducing its carbon footprint is so fundamental to Talan’s business that doing so is built into the employee culture. The company created its own “Green Team” of employees who are charged with finding new ways to improve the company’s sustainability and are championed by Talan President Pete Accorti. Talan also includes a regular column about sustainability in its company newsletter.

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