The Time for Environmentally-Friendly, Sustainable Custom Spring Manufacturing is NOW.
(This blog is an edited repost of LinkedIn article published by CEO Paul Benny on 7/20/2022)
Because we’re on a one-way street and we’re rocketing towards a dead end.
Consumers, the federal government, watchdog groups, and leaders in (nearly) every industry — are talking about being eco-friendly, improving sustainability practices, and green manufacturing.
If spring manufacturers fail to reduce carbon emissions by adopting eco-friendly manufacturing practices, the costs — for businesses, consumers, and the world — will be steep.
It’s time to stop talking about sustainable spring manufacturing and start acting.
Despite economic ups and downs and supply chain woes, manufacturing remains one of the largest sectors of the American economy. Let’s face it, climate change is real and it’s having a very real impact on manufacturing.
The cost of doing nothing is steep.
If we fail to act, the consequences are dire.
The World Economic Forum recently published research that predicts that “The largest impact of climate change is that it could wipe up to 18% of GDP off the worldwide economy by 2050 if global temperatures rise by 3.2°C” and “The global economy could lose 10% of its total economic value by 2050 due to climate change.”
Supply chain disruptions
We’re already experiencing this and it’s something we’ve covered before.
And although Covid is the convenient culprit, climate change is playing a huge role. The supply chain was delicately hinged and ready to break before the pandemic upended absolutely everything.
It’s time to accept this state of supply chain affairs as the new normal and DO something about it. Like making better use of our resources by using less of them and making the most of them by committing to reusing and recycling.
Rising costs
The literal cost of doing nothing is going up, too. As goods become harder and harder to come by (or, in some cases, impossible to come by), demand is pushing the price of materials to new heights.
Rising coping costs
The Union of Concerned Scientists notes that in addition to mass migration, and security threats, climate change is also to blame for rising “coping costs” — such as gasoline, natural gas, electricity, and water.
Property damage and infrastructure failure
It’s getting hotter here. We’re sweating in Tennessee, London’s sweltering, Europe’s on fire, exceptional droughts are killing off crops, and glaciers are melting. It’s a cycle and we’re watching sea levels rise and experiencing more and more massive flooding, mudslides, hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, and devastating wildfires. In addition to the human cost, these catastrophic events require time-consuming and costly repair of essential infrastructures such as manufacturing facilities, roads, bridges, railroads, airport runways, power lines, dams, levees, seawalls, communities, and more.
Lost productivity
The Union also notes that “Disruptions in daily life related to climate change can mean lost work and school days and harm trade, transportation, agriculture, fisheries, energy production, and tourism. Severe rainfall events and snowstorms can delay planting and harvesting, cause power outages, snarl traffic, delay air travel, and otherwise make it difficult for people to go about their daily business. Climate-related health risks also reduce productivity, such as when extreme heat curtails construction, or when more potent allergies and more air pollution lead to lost work and school days.”
It’s time for radical change. Let’s start a spring manufacturing revolution.
Simply put: It’s past time for metal spring manufacturers to embrace eco-friendly manufacturing and adopt sustainability-focused processes. Change is scary. But not doing anything is even more terrifying.
How can Tennessee Spring & Metal help?
Here at Tennessee Spring and metal, we’ve been making high-quality, long-lasting springs since 1963 — right here in Hartsville, Tennessee. We’re helping companies achieve sustainability goals and help ensure a thriving global economy for today . . . and tomorrow by:
Making springs right here in the United States and therefore, minimizing global shipping costs and emissions.
Reducing the use of natural resources by making the most of raw materials.
Offering custom coatings and Teflon coating that prolong the lifespan of your products.
Replacing harmful plastic parts with long-lasting, recyclable metal springs and wireforms.
Using returnable, reusable skids.
Utilizing environmentally-friendly technologies in the production of steel springs
Committing to recycled packaging for the shipping of our products.
Consolidating shipping to save costs and reduce carbon emissions.
Using steel that is formed, at least in part, with recycled steel.
To learn more about Tennessee Spring & Metal’s commitment to quality and sustainability, call us 1-800-497-3545 or email us at info@tennesseespring.com.
Tennessee Spring and Metal is AS9100 Rev D, ISO 9001:2015 certified.