The Office of Technical Assistance and Technology (OTA) has developed technology transfer seminars called Technology In Process, as a way to share a technology that would make a profound contribution to pollution prevention for a specific industry or process. OTA works with a host company to structure a seminar that allows representatives from other companies to have an up-close look at the innovative technology or process. Future seminars will be announced on our events page.

Industrial Water Conservation Seminar - Columbia Manufacturing, Inc.
January 23, 2006
Westfield, Massachusetts

OTA and Columbia Manufacturing, Inc. hosted a "Technology in Process" (TIP) seminar on January 23, 2006 for industrial water users to demonstrate the importance of water conservation and reuse strategies for successful business growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the face of limited water and wastewater capacity. Columbia's approach and concepts can benefit other industries.

The company eliminated the use of 150,000 gallons of water a day in their nickel and chrome plating operations. They also reduced their wastewater discharge by 130,000 gallons. By upgrading the plating equipment and integrating a zero discharge wastewater treatment system, The new, efficient plating line enables the company to recover and reuse 98% of the plating chemistry resulting in a drastic reduction of hazardous waste generation. Columbia reduced their sewer fees by $80,000 and had other savings from reduced water use and chemical costs. More information is available in the OTA case study.

Industrial Water Conservation Seminar - Cranston Print Works
November 9, 2004
Webster, Massachsuetts
Cranston Print Works (CPW) hosted a seminar, on Tuesday, November 9th, for industrial water users that focused on improving water use efficiency without sacrificing product quality.

CPW is a textile printing facility in Webster, MA that has implemented 25 water conservation projects through a union/management team oriented approach. This helped CPW achieve water savings not believed possible in the textile industry. The collective result of these projects is an annual savings of 110 million gallons of water and close to $350,000 in wastewater and energy costs. The projects ranged from simple modifications to novel reuse systems. While the main focus will be toward textile operations, CPW's approach and concepts could also be transferred other industry sectors.

Water Conservation Seminar - Intel Massachusetts
June 12, 2003
Hudson, Massachusetts

Intel Massachusetts hosted a seminar on Thursday, June 12th for industrial water users that focused on how water use efficiency can be improved without sacrificing product quality.

Intel is a semiconductor manufacturing facility, currently producing the Pentium® 4 microprocessors in Hudson, and has implemented numerous water conservation projects through a team-oriented approach. The approach helped Intel achieve water savings in areas not believed possible in the semiconductor industry. The projects ranged from simple administrative modifications to Ultra Pure Water Recycle Systems and collectively resulted in an annual savings of over 50 million gallons of water.

The seminar demonstrated the importance of water conservation and reuse strategies for successful business growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the face of limited water and wastewater capacity. While the focus of the seminar was toward ultrapure water applications in semiconductor manufacturing, Intel's approach and concepts can benefit other industries, such as printed circuit manufacturing. Please contact Jim Cain at 617-626-1081 if you have any questions.

Water Conservation Seminar - Cranston Print Works
May 21, 2003
Webster, Massachusetts

Cranston Print Works (CPW) hosted a seminar for industrial water users that focused on how the efficiency of water use can be improved without sacrificing product quality. The event took place at CPW's Webster plant on May 21. CPW is a textile printing facility in Webster that implemented 25 water conservation projects through a union/management team-oriented approach. The approach helped CPW achieve water savings not believed possible in the textile industry. The collective result of these projects is an annual savings of 110 million gallons of water and close to $350,000 in wastewater and energy costs. The projects ranged from simple modifications to novel reuse systems. While the main focus will be toward textile operations, CPW's approach and concepts could also be transferred to the pulp and paper industries and potentially others as well.

As water becomes a limiting factor for industrial expansion and wastewater an environmental liability, conservation and reuse strategies become important elements for successful expansion and maintaining a competitive advantage. OTA's efforts to identify industry advancement in conservation and reuse started with the water conservation conferences on the issues of water withdrawal held in Fall 2001 along the I-495 beltway. The TIP program is designed to build on the energy of the I-495 conferences by illustrating the concepts discussed at the conference with real world applications in manufacturing operations. If you have any questions about the event please contact OTA at (617) 626-1060.

New Technology Discovery Seminar - Inner-Tite Corporation
February 21, 2003
Holden, Massachusetts

Inner-Tite Corporation hosted a New Technology Discovery Seminar. This seminar focused on a new toxics use reduction technology that is being used at the Inner-Tite Corp. - a closed-circuit Forenta® parts degreaser that reduced air emissions of trichloroethylene TCE) by 97% and generated an annual savings of over $12,000 in chemical purchases! The Inner-Tite Corporation is very pleased with these results and wants to open their doors to other companies that could benefit from this new technology. This half-day seminar, provided at no cost, will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Inner-Tite Corp. facility in Holden, MA on Thursday, February 21st. Jack Fitzgerald, Quality Assurance Manager of Inner-Tite Corp., will describe the search for more efficient degreasing technology and the acquisition and operating experience of the new Forenta® units. Then a guided tour will give participants an opportunity to view the units in operation, followed by a short question and answer session.