L&P's High Point Plant Achieves EFEC Registration

March 17, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on March 18, 2010

Leggett & Platt's High Point components facility has implemented EFEC, or "Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture," American Home Furnishings Alliance's furniture industry-specific environmental management system.

Leggett & Platt is AHFA's first supplier member company to register a facility in the EFEC program, and the High Point components plant is the first of 13 Leggett & Platt facilities in six states that are scheduled to implement EFEC in 2010.

To achieve registration, companies must: improve management of resources and raw materials; reduce energy and water consumption; reduce waste disposal and associated costs; and increase recycling efforts.

Carthage, Mo.-based Leggett & Platt Vice President Randy Ford, who also is president of the Home Furniture Components Unit, commended Murray Catton, branch manager of the High Point facility, on completing the work necessary to achieve registration.

"The EFEC program is being initiated at all facilities in the Home Furniture Components Unit in the first half of 2010," Ford said. "Leggett continues to explore opportunities to utilize energy-saving innovations, encourage employee-partner conservation practices, increase our sustainable energy mix and collaborate with our customers to preserve our environment."

Just for months after EFEC implementation began at L&P's High Point facility, Catton's team already has reduced electrical and natural gas consumption by about 12 percent. This is expected to reduce energy expenses by about $30,000 in 2010. The High Point components facility also has reduced its landfill waste by 8 tons over the same period last year; and recently identified a recycler who will be able to take additional off-fall product, and this will reduce landfill waste by another 4 to 5 tons in 2010.

An additional $12,000 in savings was achieved by reducing the purchase of wood pallets by 25 percent over the same period last year. The High Point facility now has zero wood product going to the landfill.   

The High Point Leggett & Platt branch is a manufacturer and reseller of several types of components used within the home furnishings industry, including coil, helical and sinuous springs, seating grids, furniture suspension units, fabric pocketed seating coils, assembled motion hardware and sofa sleeper units and many other related products. The branch was the first to be certified through the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) operated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as the first to complete Leggett & Platt's newly created Supervision, Training, Accountability and Responsibility (STAR) program.

"The branch's solid commitment to employee safety and quality products is reflected by these recognitions, and we are proud to add the EFEC registration, which is in keeping with our concern for the environmental sustainability of our products and processes," Catton said.

Leggett & Platt Inc. is a diversified, international manufacturer of a broad variety of engineered components and products found in the home, office, retail store and automobile. The 127-year-old company has 21 business units, 24,000 employee-partners and more than 250 facilities located in 20 countries.

EFEC was implemented at 26 different furniture manufacturing locations in 2009.