The sustainable evolution that has exploded in the mainstream during the past few years is important for all of us in order to reduce waste, conserve energy and take better care of our planet. It sometimes can be difficult to determine how green a company truly is. ATAS International, Inc.—from the front office to the production facility to our various manufacturing sites—has taken many steps to ensure we reduce our carbon footprint, improve our energy efficiency and manufacture sustainable products.
For starters, we strive to be landfill free by producing less waste and optimizing the utilization of our materials by reusing cardboard boxes for shipments, donating extra product to the worthy causes and finding alternative uses for metal that would otherwise be considered scrap. Our skids and fiber cores from coils are reused; plastic coil ID rings are reused instead of creating new tags; and scrap wood is donated to the community. These efforts have reduced the creation of new skids and packaging by 50 percent. Although hazardous waste was minimal, we still were able to reduce this component by 64 percent. Of course, scrap metal from our manufacturing that has no alternate uses is recycled.
We have made upgrades, including motion sensors and improved lighting, to our original plant and new production facility to make the buildings more energy efficient. We also installed our InSpire® wall system, a supplementary solar air heating system, at our newest manufacturing location.
As a manufacturer of metal roofing, ATAS wanted to set an example on their own facility to show how solar and metal roofs can work together, resulting in a long-lasting, sustainable, and energy efficient system. Solar ready metal roofing is the best solution for any building on which solar is being considered. In a continuing effort to improve energy efficiency at our facilities, a 187.2 kW photovoltaic (PV) solar electric system was recently installed on ATAS International’s plant located in Mesa, Arizona.
On the operations end, we donate lightly used office products to local schools for underprivileged students instead of throwing these items away. We recycle everything—paper, bottles, cans, office supplies, batteries, ink cartridges, light bulbs, electronic equipment, newspaper and magazines. Simple changes have also made a difference. For example, we have eliminated the use of Styrofoam cups and paper plates by our employees and visitors. It’s not just the way we do business that adds to our energy-efficient measures. What we manufacture also contributes to our green lifestyle. Keep in mind all metals generally contain varying amounts of recycled material and can be recycled at the end of their service life. That means all our metal products are recyclable.
ATAS International, Inc.—from the front office to the production facility to our various manufacturing sites — has taken many steps to ensure we reduce our carbon footprint, improve our energy efficiency and manufacture sustainable products.
ATAS manufactures InSpire®, a transpired solar collector wall system that generates renewable energy by capturing heat from the sun, and ATA-Solar, a building integrated photovoltaic roof system that transforms solar energy into electricity. Where possible, our roofing products are coated with a cool pigment paint that reflects infrared radiation. This allows the color to appear the same but keeps the material cooler, reducing the urban heat island effect, lowering the building’s interior temperature and slashing cooling season utility bills. ATAS products may contribute to LEED® credits and/or be ENERGY STAR® qualified.
In addition to our facilities and products, we even put some green thought into creating our binder and literature. Most of the literature contains recycled material or is printed on FSC Certified Paper. Throughout our literature, you will be directed to our website for additional information that may be available. We did this so you can access our regularly updated information at any time, as well as to avoid wasting paper. We diligently upgrade our website so we don’t squander natural resources but also to ensure you get what you need from us, including CAD drawings, estimating guides, installation guides, load tables, price pages, specification sheets, specification writer, test data, warranty information and more.
In the end, sustainability is a choice, but I think it is the right one for ATAS. I look forward to working with you to bring our sustainable products and practices to your company and community.
Dick Bus
President, ATAS International, Inc.