Quality Rolling and Deburring Saves Time, Energy, Money and the Environment by Recycling In-House

Quality Rolling & Deburring (Quality) (Tomaston, CT) is recognized as a leading company throughout the metal finishing industry. Directed by its Chairman, George LaCapra, his 35 years of experience in metal finishing has enabled this aggressive company to carry on its tradition of complete customer satisfaction by adopting technological advances to its operational capabilities.

Recycling in-house is one such technological advance that has allowed Quality Rolling & Deburring to save time, energy and money. This is one way Quality excels at deriving maximum value from its operations, enabling it to provide a healthier work environment and superior customer service.

In-house Recycling versus Outside Waste Hauler

In order to recycle the contaminated PERC (tetrachloroethylene) used in metal-degreasing,
Quality previously used stills inline with a degreaser to reclaim about 50 percent of the
PERC, then paid for the remaining 50 percent to be hauled away in drums. According to Environmental Manager Alan Prince, “The problem I had with that is we only got 50 percent of the PERC back,” he said, “whereas with Omega, we get 90 percent back.” With requirements for PERC over 9,000 gallons per year, a loss of 50 percent was a significant inefficiency, spurring Quality’s interest in a less costly alternative.

Another difficulty Prince encountered was the cost and time involved in having the 55
gallon drums of PERC removed. At approximately $50 per drum and close to 200 drums
per year, along with the allotted storage space required between pick-ups, the cost of
PERC removal added up both on paper and in the workplace. Prince, whose job is to
analyze problems and recommend solutions, saw onsite recycling as a possible answer to
Quality’s recycling difficulties. “We decided to have something in-house to cut down
costs, and use the extra space to create a better working environment,” Prince said.

Researching Alternatives

Quality Rolling & Deburring began to research in-house recycling systems to minimize the amount of virgin PERC needed. The goal was to get most of the PERC back that was being shipped out as waste. “I wanted a machine that would produce a clean PERC at a reasonable cost,” Prince said.

Prince spoke with an industry contact and was referred to Sam Suissa, engineer and owner of Omega Recycling Technologies (Montreal, QC), a recognized leader in equipment for recycling, recovery and purification of hazardous waste. Omega was able to offer expert advice immediately, drawing from more than 25 years of experience providing solutions to industry for recycling liquid waste. “The details they provided answered my questions and my managers’ questions, allowing us to move forward. We were very pleased with their response,” Prince said. Based on this expertise Quality Rolling & Deburring arranged for a presentation from Omega.

Omega Background

Founded in 1980 in Montreal, Canada, Omega provides the broadest range of recycling solutions in the market, with equipment addressing solvent recycling, oil recovery and industrial process water purification systems. Omega is known for their high-quality engineered products, which not only provide “in-house” solutions, but also provide unique “inline” design for efficient integration into the customer’s manufacturing processes. A significant portion of the company’s resources are directed toward R&D projects for solving hazardous waste issues in a wide variety of industries.

Omega’s Presentation to Quality Rolling & Deburring

Omega Recycling made a presentation to Quality Rolling & Deburring and provided an in-depth analysis of their needs. Quality ultimately chose to purchase Omega’s RSP-100 model for Oil/PERC stripping. The RSP-100 was an attractive option because of its PLC controlled automatic fill system, making it easy and convenient to operate, and its capacity to process 60 gallons per day (three batches of 20 gallons), leaving room for future expansion. The RSP-100 also works through distillation, instead of filters or other chemicals, reducing maintenance costs and prolonging the life of the unit. “We are impressed by its simplicity,” Prince says, “Omega definitely offers value for money.”

Part of Omega’s simplicity is to use components that maximize the payback. For instance, the RSP-100 uses an oil filled heating jacket that wraps around the distillation chamber. Oil provides a uniform heat distribution, allowing for a better separation of PERC from its contaminants in the distillation chamber. As a result, more PERC is recovered, which increases the savings for the user while decreasing the time they spend operating the unit.

Quality was also impressed by Omega’s automatic oil sludge drain which removes contaminants from the distillation chamber. “The less our employees have to handle the contaminated waste, the better,” says Prince, “We want to ensure our employees have a safe and enjoyable working environment.” Prince is impressed with the machine, adding, “It’s very easy to use. It takes care of itself; you just start it up and it runs itself out.”

Other features of the RSP-100 are a water cooled heat exchanger (to condense PERC vapors that evaporate from the distillation chamber), a stainless steel water/PERC separator, and a water buffer tank with PERC alarm and water evaporator.

Reducing Costs

Since the RSP-100 was put into operation in April 2005, Quality has seen a reduction in costs of more than $50,000 per year. Savings from the unit paid off the original investment in less than nine months, and they no longer incur expensive charges for waste removal. “For every 20 gallon batch of PERC/oil mixture (50 percent PERC, 50 percent oil) we get about nine gallons of recycled PERC back for reuse” Prince says.

For Suissa, the trick to successful recycling is to recognize the company’s needs and
to adapt to meet them. “For every user, the equipment at the core is the same, but there’s
always a little bit of tailoring to get the equipment to fit,” he says. “There’s more to
recycling than just popping a system there; it’s also integrating a machine into the
company’s operations. Everybody’s needs are unique, and you have to keep that in
consideration.”


For more information on Omega Recycling Technologies, call (800) 361-1194 or visit
the Web site at www.omega-systems.ca. For more information on Quality Rolling & Deburring, visit the Web site at www.qualityrolling.com.