New Xerox plant in Webster has a "green" goal

“Given where the customer wants to do given what we think we need to do for the environment, this was a good answer,” says Richard Schmactenberg, vice president of Consumables Development and Manufacturing Group at Xerox.

The world’s largest manufacturer in toner is now leading the way in a chemically-grown toner called “Emulsion Aggregation” or EA. The toner not only produces more images per page but sharper images too, equating to less toner being used by the consumer.

“And what they were asking us to do, really drive smaller and smaller toner particles which is very difficult to do in an energy-friendly manner,” says Schmactenberg.

Xerox’s new EA toner processing plant in Webster not only solely produces the environmentally-friendly toner; its processing is also easier on the environment. The company calls the Webster plant a “smart” manufacturing center, helping Xerox keep its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2012.

Xerox’s new plant requires about 35% less energy to produce EA toner than it would in other processing plants and the facility produces less waste. EA toner is also water-based compared to other toners on the market which are solvent-based.

“This is part of that picture as sustainability; clearly we look to the future as the teams develop this toner and looked at the total energy production as far as toner,” says Schmactenberg.

And the demand for EA toner is growing; already more than a dozen Xerox products on the market used EA toner.

“We will continue to look at this kind of toner because it has a number of specifics and technologies and it is the environmental-friendly which we would really like to try to build into our product portfolio,” says Wim Appelo, vice president of Xerox Strategic Services.