Released on June 23, 2011

AFW Foundry, Lannon, Wis., has begun a metalcasting sand reuse project that is expected to save $85,250 per year in landfill costs, in addition to offering other benefits.

A spokesperson for AFW said the program, launched through the Wisconsin Profitable Sustainability Initiative (PSI), also is expected to reduce raw material expenditures and shrink the plant’s environmental footprint.

“The program came along at an opportune time,” said Amy Dvornik, AFW’s vice president of business development. “We saw a strong opportunity to do the right thing for the environment and make some cost-effective improvements for our business.”

Before the sand reclamation project, AFW was landfilling 6,500 tons of sand per year. In the first year of the program, the facility now re-uses 70% of the reclaimed sand for production and diverts the remaining 30% (about 1,920 tons) of that material to projects like roadbed and embankment construction.

AFW pours nonferrous sand castings for a range of commercial applications. In recent years, AFW has seen an increase in its nobake business and has leveraged technology to improve efficiencies. Through re-engineering of the facility, the company invested in a sand reclamation system, but 30% of the reclaimed sand still was destined for a landfill.

Through PSI, launched by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Wisconsin Department of Commerce, AFW was able to perform sampling and analysis of the waste sand. It then applied for and received a Category 2 classification from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The designation allows the diverted sand to be certified for beneficial re-use in approved areas.

“The PSI team guided us through a very complex process to find out what things we could start taking action on today,” Dvornik said.