EU Services Finds Going Green Increases Profitability

EU Services, is a leading direct mail marketing services provider located in Rockville, MD, that was founded over 40 years ago. Their stated mission is to transform ideas into innovative, cost-effective and customized direct mail marketing solutions that will deliver the results their customers are looking for. This veteran-owned, high-growth, profitable organization is based on a rich history of customer care and a long held commitment to the community and the environment.

EU Services sets a high standard when it comes to protecting and reducing their impact on the environment. They use recycled materials whenever possible, reduce their own waste, purchase 100% Green-e Certified wind electricity and utilize environmentally-friendly products and systems. EU Services has made a commitment to understanding and evaluating their environmental performance, therefore; providing an example for their suppliers, customers and competitors to follow.

To this end, EU Services looked for areas of concern in their manufacturing operations. As their business grew, the amount of chemicals used in the manufacturing process increased proportionally. This had a negative impact on their business. The amount of waste hauling required, as well as the amount of VOCs emitted by the plant, increased in proportion to their business growth. In addition, they knew that the amount of discharge could make compliance with local environmental regulations more problematic in the future. In the process, EU Services also looked at their manufacturing process for ways to reduce paper consumption and overall paper waste.

They turned to their Prisco (Booth 201) representative to suggest solutions to these issues. To reduce the amount of waste solvent hauled away from the plant, they installed a PriscoTech SolvKlene II Solvent Recycler. The SolvKlene processes waste solvent after the press washing process and returns clean solvent that can be reused in future cleaning cycles. As they use a water miscible wash, the PriscoTech SolvKlene separates the water and contaminants from the solvent during the process.

Tom Loudon, VP of Operations, remarked that “the SolvKlene is amazing; we should have purchased this years ago. It has offered us a very easy return on our investment.” Before installation, EU Services was having their waste hauler remove an average of 450 gallons of solvent per month from the plant. The PriscoTech Solveklene II drastically reduced the amount waste requiring disposal to about 250 gallons every three months.

Ford James, Safety and Security Manager for EU Services, said, “Our recent installation of Prisco’s SolvKlene has proven to be one of the best environmental investments EU Services has made. We realized significantly reduced hazardous material waste costs and shipments and, in addition, reduced our potential liability for a spill when transporting the material. EU is able to recover and reuse 85% or more of the solvent and water recovered in the SolvKlene unit, resulting in fewer purchases of virgin solvent and reduced plant VOCs. The investment in Prisco’s SolvKlene dovetails with EU Services’ commitment to become more sustainable and reduce its impact on the environment.”

To address the issue of fountain solution volume, EU Services acquired a FloClear from Prisco. The FloClear allows them to extend the time between fountain solution replacements, thus allowing for more press uptime as well as reducing the amount of solution used and disposed of. They also took advantage of the opportunity to stabilize the water temperature and further filter their fountain solution. Installation of the PriscoTech AquaChill II Fountain Solution Chiller and Circulator allows for more consistent and predictable fountain solution temperature. EU Services has found that this has resulted in better press control. They have been able to reduce production waste, press downtime and are able to achieve an increase in print quality. Loudon stated, “The AquaChill is a solid piece of equipment, which has been running strong for the last year and a half.”

EU Service has seen that striving for a reduced carbon footprint and impact on the environment resulted in measurable improvements in quality and their bottom line profitability—a win/win situation for EU Services and our planet!