Environment Achievement
In 1995 when Mechanical Finishing, Inc. was faced with troubling waste problems and large disposal fines, Jerry Stenger, President, heard all kinds of "advice," from "flush everything down the drain" to "pack up and move out." Stenger chose a more pro-active approach, an IAMS waste reduction assessment and the waste team's suggestions. So successful were these ideas that, once implemented, Mechanical Finishing received Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce's prestigious Environmental Achievement Award.

Low-Interest Loan Made It Possible
IAMS engineers recommended installing a system to treat and reuse the wastewater. Its price tag was a hefty $130,000, but IAMS recommended applying for Ohio's low-interest Pollution Prevention Loan Program, for which the five-year old company qualified. Stenger worked with IAMS and the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to set up the waste treatment system to their specifications – separating suspended solids and oils from the wastewater – and enlarge the large tanks and accommodate additional business. "IAMS helped save my business... We have a system now that can handle any wastewater we dispose of," says Stenger. At first, he admits, "it was hard to believe that we could really reuse the wastewater we generated. But we had everything to gain and nothing to lose."

Back in Action Servicing Core Customers
Now concentrating on deburring and finishing metals for customers in the automotive, home appliance, food service and high technology industries, whose products are normally heavily coated with stamping oil, Mechanical Finishing expects payback on the system in about four years.

Annual Savings In Dollars... and Resources
The Cincinnati company averages savings annually of $40,000; those figures rise as the number of metal parts processed increases. From daily water use and wastewater discharge – nearly 40,000 gallons a day at the assessment – they now only purchase and discharge about 3,000 gallons of water per day, with a reduction goal of only 1,000 gallons a day.

Additional Water Savings
The installation of spray nozzles on the floor-cleaning hoses, another IAMS suggestion, saves the company 10,000 gallons of water per day. And the lower suspended-solids surcharges on the reduced waste discharge save several thousand dollars a month.

Flexible Recycling System Aimed at Zero Discharge
"We're working toward zero discharge," Stenger says. As a result, MFI is batch-discharging about every forth day, and their monitoring requirements have dropped to grab sample checks (vs. continual checks) by the MSD. Stenger applauds the IAMS staff for their "knowledge and support," and "finding a way for this company to afford a system that can work for a long period of time." With the flexibility of the waste treatment system, Stenger sees additional business ventures in the future