MICHAEL NEMETH/WONDERFUL MACHINE
Taylor Companies' Green Push
Taylor Companies is proof that it's never too late to think green. The Bedford, Ohio, office furniture maker, founded in 1816, is the oldest operating business in the state. Now owned by Brett Meals—a member of the founding family and an executive vice-president at Taylor—the 65-person, $13.5 million business is run by President Jeff Baldassari, whose father was the first nonfamily member to run the company.
Taylor's green push began in 2005, when the company was building a new plant in Bedford to consolidate operations from two existing facilities. While the $6 million project, which involved remediating an old industrial site, came with some government incentives, Baldassari knew he would need to streamline the company to justify the investment. "We worried about how we were going to pay for it and where the cost efficiencies would come from," he says.
Moving to a consolidated facility with new energy-efficient equipment knocked $63,000 off Taylor's annual energy bill. But Baldassari knew he could save more. In 2007 he hired Brakey Consulting of Shaker Heights, Ohio, to perform an energy audit. Brakey came up with 10 suggestions, 7 of which Taylor implemented within a month, saving $15,000. Baldassari's team also attacked the tons of trash they generated. These days Taylor spends just $1,800 a year to haul trash to a landfill—a bill Baldassari says would be 10 times that without all of its recycling.
