Responsible manufacturing Washington DC

"Clean, sustainable manufacturing benefits everyone — it's great for the environment and it's good business," explains Mike Presto, chief operations officer of Fresno, Calif.-based Innerspace Industries.

Presto takes great pride in his company's stance on environmentally conscious manufacturing practices.

"Innerspace Industries does its very best to meet or exceed all current environmental regulations," Presto says. "We believe in this position because we are producing products that are safe for the employees who build the furniture and cabinets; and are good for the customers who will use them for many years."

THE BEGINNING

In 1977, Presto entered the furniture business by chance when an interior designer came across a coffee table he had designed.

"My wife, Angela, and I were doing part-time, post-graduate work — so we had very little money — and I had a design in mind for simple a glass-top, wood frame table that would fold down flat," Presto explains. "In the process of finding a cabinetmaker to cut the parts we needed, we contacted a local interior designer who really liked the design and offered to show it to some potential buyers."

The table was marketed locally, and the Prestos were offered jobs with the interior design firm making small specialty furniture.

In the beginning, Innerspace's focus was custom residential furniture, but the company eventually moved into the commercial market and developed several product lines.

Innerspace now serves business furniture retail stores, architects, interior designers and ergonomists. The company's staff consists of 35 employees.

Innerspace — which also owns and operates a stone shop — has production capabilities of $500,000 to $750,000 per month in both its wood and stone divisions. Sixty-five percent of Innerspace's business is commercial.

The company's wood division produces commercial office case goods, teller lines, ergonomic furniture, custom furniture and cabinets. Its stone shop fabricates countertops for both residential and commercial projects, and supplies tops and components to the wood shop.

OfficeFit, the company's standard catalogue of high-performance office furniture, accounts for half of Innerspace's business. The additional 35 percent is made up of semicustom (size or finish) products; and 15 percent of the company's work is one-of-a-kind custom work.

DESIGN INFLUENCE AND EXECUTION

At Innerspace, the design of custom products is driven by a combination of the market, its customers and the company itself.

"In general, the markets we are working in have become more and more global," Presto says. "The increase of access to international designs and products through the Internet has much more influence on design than ever before."

Innerspace Industries' scope of production is very broad.

"Our foundation of design is parametric formula based, which allows us to produce short-run and special-size products with ease usually seen in larger, longer run projects," Presto says. "Our CNC equipment receives the data over our in-house network from engineering and produces the precision parts with machining. Most importantly are the craftsmen at all points of design and construction who move information and products from concept to reality."

According to Presto, a general acceptance of lower material quality standards for case goods has had a negative effect on manufacturers who are concerned about the long-term durability and performance of the products it designs and manufactures.

ENVIRONMENTAL EMPHASIS

Innerspace puts a great emphasis on how the company affects the environment; Wood Digest asked Presto to explain how his company does its part to protect the environment.

WD: Highlight the steps Innerspace has taken toward sustainable manufacturing.

Presto: Combining sustainable manufacturing and productivity just takes some common sense.

For example, many years ago we adopted a four-day, 10-hour-shift work week. This schedule has provided a 20 percent reduction in auto emission, and the cost for transportation for our production employees. Overtime hours are worked during the regular business week if necessary. The four-day work week allows us to schedule production around national holidays and vacation periods we observe — with no loss to regular production time. This has improved production output relative to the hours at work.

In our wood division, we have moved to a nested-based optimization cutout that yields more parts and square feet of materials and less scrap to recycle.

And in our finish department, we use one sealing and finish coat material. This procedure improves the quality of the final finish and eliminates the need to change finishes in between finish coats. It also eliminates the time required to flush out equipment and waste cleaning solvents that need to be recycled.

Note: See sidebar for a detailed list of the environmentally responsible initiatives at Innerspace.

WD: Would you say Innerspace's dedication to responsible manufacturing reflects a corporate culture or the social climate in your region?

Presto: The leadership and mission of the company plays an important part in how, when and to what degree environmentally responsible methods are considered and adopted in production. Government legislation has incentive programs and punitive programs that are moving all of us down a path of lower emission manufacturing.

Controlling total emissions is done most effectively when attainable regulation is applied to the largest area possible.

The larger the potential market the more likely suppliers will develop products to meet the regulations. Evidence of this is easily seen in the substrate and finish products on the market and in development. Moderate emission controls are much more effective and fair when applied on a national level, as opposed to strict controls on a small regional group.

The same emission controls must apply to all domestic and imported products.

WD: Name the regulations that have affected your company. What capital investments has Innerspace made to be in compliance?

Presto: We are in the San Joaquin Air Quality District. Representatives monitor our VOC emissions regularly. Our capital investment related to compliance involves all of our core machinery, material selection and employee training.

WD: Describe your finishing department.

Presto: At present the finish department is pretty traditional in nature. We primarily are using HVLP technology for finish application. This department is scheduled for a machinery upgrade to utilize UV cure materials. What sets us apart from most finish departments is that our conversion varnish sealer and topcoats are less than 1 lb. VOC/gal. Our stains are migrating to water-based, zero VOC emission products.

WD: Any tips for running an environmentally conscious business?

Presto: The conservation of materials has as much and sometimes more to affect lower emission production as anything.

Companies should also try to work with suppliers that are willing to provide lower emission products and products from renewable sources at competitive prices.

Manufacturers should invest in processes, software, machinery and — most of all — a staff that believes it doesn't need to be more expensive to be an environmentally responsible manufacturer.

For furniture manufacturers, build quality furniture that lasts and doesn't end up in a landfill a year or so later.

WD: What is your biggest challenge as a manufacturer?

Presto: One of our biggest challenges is the education of our customers regarding the benefits of high-quality and ergonomically designed furniture, cabinetry and countertops. Another challenge is trying to compete with imported furniture manufacturers, who are not required to operate under the same material or labor regulations.