The Green Debate Continues
Friday, February 18th, 2011For more than a couple of years now, the value and validity of “going green” has been going on in the material handling industry. Some people say going green is a moral obligation to protect the environment. Others say it’s no more than a selling point to make people look eco-conscious but really doesn’t mean anything. For several years, the movement to go green in material handling has been the buzzword.

Scott Lee
However, according to Scott Lee, president of Conveyor Solutions in Schaumburg, Illinois, the movement is finally starting to get some traction. The biggest way to show customers savings from going green is through what Lee refers to as energy reduction systems. I’ll let him explain.
“It’s not terribly new—the government has been doing it forever—but it really wasn’t pushed out there in commercial world. We now sell customers on the idea of turning off their equipment when they’re not using it. Most customers start up their conveyor system when they walk in the building but don’t start using it for an hour or two. Then it’s like a bell curve, meaning that it’s super busy in the middle of the day and then almost empty at the end of the day. We shut off the parts not being used. It extends the life of the equipment and uses less energy, so there are huge gains to be made on energy reduction in the conveyor industry.”
In some cases, he says, those savings can result in a lightning-quick payback of just one to two months, depending on the system, of course. Thanks, Scott, for your insights. Pretty amazing stuff. So, once again, I’ll throw this question out there: is the green movement in material handling here to stay? What do you think?






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