Americo floor pads showcased by Domadia Buscon, a trading company based in Hyderabad, at Clean India Pulire 2009, are made out of 100% recycled polyester material with a minimum 80% post consumer waste. “Primary sources of these materials are recycled soda and water bottles,” says John W. Miller, Executive VP-Sales & Marketing, Americo Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Americo decided many years ago to change its sources of polyester fibre and to change its binder resin chemistry. “First, Americo determined that the commonly used resin binder chemicals in floor pad production were not environmentally preferred, both in the plant and in the outside environment. Those commonly used products are derived from phenol-based chemistry that has been determined to contain carcinogens and are potentially hazardous to both the inside and outside plant air quality. Americo shifted all of its binder chemistry to 100% water-based resin products. We have fully tested and proved that this chemistry, when used in the resin binders, is in every way equal in performance to phenol (phenol formaldehyde) based resins,” adds Miller.
“Later, but still over five years ago, Americo decided that 100% of its polyester fibre that is used in production of all the floor and hand pad products, must be 100% recycled polyester fibre. The recycled polyester comes from water and soda bottles primarily. Since these products (drinking water and soft drinks) are food products, they are heavily monitored and must meet specific US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations. For example, the bottles used in packaging water and soft drinks must be made of the highest-grade polyester. Even after the recycling process, the fibre we receive is of a higher grade than typically used by our competitors offering so-called virgin polyester. In short, we have also proved that our polyester meets and exceeds very strenuous testing for durability and performance.”
Americo, a 40 year old Georgia based company, embraces eco-friendly principles right from raw material to its manufacturing processes. It conserves water by operating its own in-house water treatment process that reduces wastewater by 83%. The plant operates under an EPA approved Clean Air Permit that regulates safe emissions. Even its shipping cartons contain 45% recycled material.
“Americo takes the environment seriously and it has even installed a pond oasis that collects rain runoff and provides a safe habitat for wildlife, including many species of birds to live and thrive,” says Miller.
Sanjay Domadia, Partner, Americo-Domadia Buscon In, who is the distributor for Americo pads in India, says that the marketing strategy for the pads in India is based basically on educating the end users, especially hotels and MNCs about the importance of using eco-friendly tools and pads. “Our training material explains how bottles are converted to pads of different sizes.”
