Environmental Policy

RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP

Being a responsible environmental citizen has been a tenet of Panel Processing’s corporate policy since the company was formed in 1970. Currently, our Corporate Steering Committee monitors and analyzes all aspects of procurement, manufacturing, and delivery procedures to ensure that this policy is upheld. They routinely review all existing operations and evaluate any new projects on the basis of fundamentals that evolved from this early and ongoing environmental commitment. These fundamentals are:

-Sustainable material selection and sourcing.

-Manufacturing process control.

-Air quality.

-Recycling opportunities within operations.

-Minimization of and recycling opportunities for our waste streams.

-Energy conservation.

-Supplier accountability.

-Employee health and well being.

We purchase MDF, particle board, veneer plywood, hardboard, and other engineered wood products from manufacturers that employ responsible tree harvesting and forest management practices. These practices are designed for maximum material usage with minimum environmental impact as described by the Forest Stewardship Council. We specify that these products be certifiable as Environmentally Preferred Products by the Composite Panel Association. We then utilize these products throughout our converting and secondary manufacturing processes up to and including packaging and shipping in a manner which is as environmentally responsible as possible.

Coatings that we apply emit minimal or no VOC’s and are primarily formulated using water borne or UV cured technology. They are applied with curtain coaters and/or roll coaters that yield the best transfer efficiency possible. No heavy metal pigments are used and all obsolete or off specification coatings are reworked and retinted to minimize waste. We are leaders in employing water based technology in the wood coatings field making our first successful conversion in 1988.

All wood waste is either recycled to one of our suppliers for boiler fuel and/or raw fiber or it is utilized as animal bedding by the local agricultural community. Metal, plastic, glass, and other recycling is also in place at all locations.