InterfaceFlor Using New Waste Reduction Technology

LaGrange, GA, July 20, 2009--InterfaceFlor, the modular flooring company, is introducing new technologies that will reduce manufacturing waste at its facilities.

The company has installed a bespoke ultrasonic cutting machine based on NASA technology, which will double output and enable the company to eliminate several hundred tons of waste per year from the manufacturing process.

The machine uses Ultra Sonic Cutting to reduce 'window waste' -- the excess trimmings from cutting tiles out of rolls of carpet. InterfaceFlor expects the machine to deliver a reduction of as much as 80 percent, which will enable it to eliminate 310 tons of waste material each year from the production of its carpet tiles.

The company has also developed a 'Cool Green' system that allows it to recycle manufacturing and carpet waste back into its products for the first time; this not only reduces the material sent to landfill but also heralds a new dimension of 'green' manufacturing for the company. The new technologies are inspired by InterfaceFLOR's Mission Zero ambition - its pledge to be the world's first fully sustainable company by 2020.

Ton van Keken, senior vice president, operations, InterfaceFlor Europe, commented, "We consider waste to be any cost which does not produce value to the customer. Under this definition, eliminating waste is much more than reducing the material we send to landfill; it is also about improving wasteful activities -- any process that could be done faster, with more output or with less time and energy."