Sustainability Initiatives

Responsible Manufacturing - Stewards Of The Environment

The state of the environment is the ultimate, global employee-ownership program. Our responsibility is to leave it better than we found it and preserving our world for future generations has been top-of-mind for Scot Forge for many years.

As employee-owners of this planet, we have to leave the environment better than we found it. These are some of the ways we do today, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, we will

In 2019, we purchased 175,557,236 lbs. of steel, all of which came from recycled steel and alloys. Additionally, in one form or another, we recycle any steel not sold to our customers. As a result, roughly 61.8 million lbs. of unused product, or scrap, were recycled this past year: from the scale formed during forging to the leftover material or turnings from the machining process. Furthermore, we recycle other consumables from our shop such as used or damaged machine inserts, saw blades, electronics, batteries, gloves, paper and other office materials.

At Scot Forge, continuous improvement is key, so our teams are consistently looking for ways to make our assets more efficient. Here are just three examples.

We designed our 16,500-ton press to have three times the tonnage of our 5,500-ton press while using less average power through our energy-saving tactics.
We converted old air compressors to far more efficient compressors in our Franklin Park plant and changed the hammers from steam to compressed air.
We have converted our presses to hydraulics to achieve minimal heat creation and energy use during production.

To reduce our carbon footprint even further, we have converted lighting in our plants to LED light fixtures and have installed motion detection to conserve electricity. With an average house in the US using 10,972 kWh per year, the annual energy savings from moving our lighting to LED is more than the amount of power used by 450+ homes per year.

We try to achieve energy savings wherever possible. Part of this initiative includes optimizing our forge furnaces through batching our parts to reduce the number of cycles we need to run, and by firing our burners in pairs. Our systems allow the burners to switch roles, which provides for systematic heat storage. The burner preheats the air used for combustion and saves approximately 43% of the natural gas-operated with a traditional combustion system. To heat up a typical 150-ton load, we save more than 150 MMBtu (million Btu). This savings is equivalent to the furnace running in more than 60 houses continuously for 24 hours.

Finally, the foundations of our assets are built with a zero-leak structure to ensure we have no spillage into the ground that could potentially contaminate the groundwater. And, the water we use at our Spring Grove plant for various processes is recycled and returned to Nippersink Creek from which it came. The creek sees frequent recreational use. We take it upon ourselves to ensure the water we put into it is of the highest quality through a retention pond system to guarantee our water is cleaned before entering the Nippersink. This system comprises three different ponds, each of which allows the water to flow through filters that clean out any substances in the water.

Through the unwavering commitment of our employee-owners, we will forge a better future for those we serve: our customers, fellow owners, suppliers and communities. The foundation of our commitment is our unique employee-owned culture, which embodies the values of safety, personal accountability, integrity, continuous improvement, learning and collaboration.

Proud to be an American Manufacturer

8001 Winn Rd.
Spring Grove, IL 60081

1(800)435-6621

Sustainable Forgings

Responsible Manufacturing - Stewards Of The Environment