OUR HISTORY Gerber was established in 1939 by Joseph R. Gerber. What started out to be handmade cutlery holiday gift sets turned into thousands of retail accounts around the country. By 1960, Gerber has quickly become one of the most trusted, appreciated and collected name in knives. Now 75 years since its founding and Gerber continues to grow. Gerber is a company dedicated to making knives and tools of high quality materials and innovative designs that stand up to a lifetime of use. Gerber is no longer just a knife company. Multi ‐ tools, axes, handsaws, machetes, headlamps, flashlights, survival kits, digging implements – these are the newest directions that Gerber explores with the same standards of quality and design.
SUSTAINABILITY AT GERBER Gerber is continually working to improve our manufacturing processes, conserve energy, reduce consumption and CO2 emissions along with cost improvements.
ON-GOING SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS ENERY CONSERVATION 2008 Reduced electrical usage by 27,560 kwhs by replacing 190 halide lights in manufacturing with 160 energy efficient T5 fluorescent lamp fixtures. Reduced CO2 emissions by 21 tons. ANNUAL SAVINGS $12,000 (Completed with initiatives from Energy Trust of Oregon) 2009 Reduced natural gas usage by 7,379 Therms by replacing gas heaters with 95% efficient units. This on ‐ going project reduces our CO2 emissions by 39 tons. 2 YEARS COST SAVING $10,718 Mini ‐ split systems are now available that are 98% efficient and require little or no maintenance.
ON-GOING SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS WATER CONSERVATION: 2010 Reduction of water usage by 15,680 gallons by using a new ceramic pellet in our deburr process. ANNUAL SAVINGS $1,965
ON-GOING SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS RAW MATERIAL REDUCTION: 2010 Reduced aluminum bar consumption for milling knife handles by 5.3 tons by decreasing the thickness of material from 1/4” to 3/16”. Resulted in 25% aluminum reduction with a cost SAVINGS of $5,000. Reduced our CO2 emissions by 36 tons.
ON-GOING SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS PACKAGING REDUCTION: 2011 Gerber launched a new packaging design for our products. We reduced the plastic usage by 48% which is a 6.1 ton reduction in consumption. ANNUAL SAVINGS $15,000 All our packaging is Toxic and Packaging Clearing House Certified (TCPH). 100% recyclable, 30% recycled content which reduced our CO2 emissions by 9 tons.
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY On an annual basis Gerber recycles 150 tons of paper, plastic, cardboard, wood pallets, steel, aluminum, swarf, motors, equipment, molding and laser scrap, computers, monitors, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, coolant, and oil. Our recycling efforts have reduced our CO2 emissions by 883 tons along with receiving $20,792.00 from our recycler annually.
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY RECYCLING ACTIVITY: 2009 Reduced dry trash to landfill by 2 tons due to the elimination of paper plates, plastic utensils, and all other non ‐ essential items in the lunchroom. ANNUAL SAVINGS $10,000
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY RECYCLING ACTIVITY: 2010 Increased our recycling efforts by recycling molding and Laser scrap. 2011 Set up recycle and compost bins in the office areas and lunchroom. Also began recycling Styrofoam! Reducing our dry trash by 2 tons. SAVING $8,000
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY RECYCLING ACTIVITY: 2012 Expanded our “Recycle at Work” program to the production area by setting ‐ up recycle and compost bins. Also, began composting paper towels in our kitchen areas and changed drinking cups at the water coolers to paper cups which can be composted. Resulted in a reduction of 21 tons of CO2 emissions. ANNUAL SAVINGS $18,377
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY “GREEN TEAM” ACTIVITIES: 2012 Established “Green Team” and trained office personnel and production employees to the “Recycle at Work” program. Set ‐ up recycle and compost bins throughout facility. 2013 The “Green Team” found “Kleen Blast” to reuse our glass bead which will save 72 tons of glass bead from the landfill with a cost savings of $6,000 annually! By increasing our recycling efforts and “Going Green” we will reduce our CO2 emissions by 187 tons annually! The “Green Team” continues to track each waste stream and find “Green” outlets for each!
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY FUTURE “GREEN TEAM” ACTIVITIES Reduce coolant change outs to every 2 years instead of every year to reduce chemical usage and cost. This is an annual cost savings of $6,210.00. Completed 2014. Recycle ceramic pellets used in our deburr process. This will save 5 tons of ceramic pellets from the landfill along with an annual cost savings of $3,100.00. Completed 2014. Eliminate coffee cups from the vending machines saving 24,940 cups from the landfill each year! Reducing our CO2 emissions by 2 tons annually with a cost savings of $2,005.00. Completed 2014.
GERBER SUSTAINABILITY FUTURE “GREEN TEAM” ACTIVITIES Source raw materials that have an increased percentage of recycled fiber for example; copy paper 30%, cardboard 50%, art cards 30%, plastic 30%. Continue to work with sourcing and purchasing to increase recycled materials that are used. Working with New Product Development to reuse our scrap metal on current and new products. Working with Sourcing on how we can produce our sheaths so they are recyclable. Continue to reduce waste to landfill. Reduced waste to land fill by 50% in 2013 with “Recycle at Work” program expanded into production. Work with the Energy Trust of Oregon on LED office fixtures. Investigate “Zero Waste to Landfill” process. Currently, 85% landfill free which has reduced our CO2 emissions by 319 tons annually!
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