Manufacturing Plants
All Azrock® manufacturing plants are ISO 9001 certified. The ISO system sets a rigorous, international standard for manufacturing excellence and quality. Moreover, our plants utilize one of the most advanced air purification systems available, providing clean, healthy air for our employees.
Energy
We’ve made great strides in conserving energy in our plants, recently receiving the Department of Energy’s coveted Energy Saver award for our Houston plant. In fact, 10 percent of the electricity we use at our Houston facility is generated by wind. All of our plants have reduced energy consumption by as much as 20 percent through various strategies, such as the use of T5 fluorescent bulbs in 40 percent of our production areas and “soft-starts” on 35 percent of our equipment.
Production Practices
We are continually searching for ways to improve our manufacturing practices and to conserve natural resources. For instance, the cooling water used in our plants is filtered and recycled. Stabilizers used in our flooring production have moved from liquid to powder-based, lowering the discharge of organic compounds into the air.
Locally Sourced Raw Materials
Our tiles are American made, and we’re proud of it! Whenever possible, we source our raw materials, such as plentiful limestone, close to our manufacturing plants. This not only potentially contributes to LEED credits, but conserves transportation fuel. 500 Mile Radius Map (PDF link to regional map)
Use of Recycled Material in Our Tile Products
Using recycled material in our flooring tile products is the smart and environmentally correct thing to do. All our tile categories contain pre-consumer recycled content. Using improved technologies, Azrock is committed to increasing the percentage of pre-consumer recycled material in our tile products. In one week alone in March 2008, we reclaimed a total of 20,352 pounds of pre-consumer and post-consumer tiles. Not only does this help preserve our limited natural resources, recycled materials make sense. For LEED projects, specifying flooring products with recycled content will contribute to achieving LEED credits.
Recycling in Our Plants
Our production process utilizes internal recycling in a close-loop process — nothing is ever wasted.
All manufacturing scrap is salvaged and reused. Our packaging contains a minimum of 30 percent recycled material. At Azrock, we are continually challenging ourselves to find new ways to recycle.