STC’s Green Initiatives
Shortly after STC opened its doors in 1986, the company started recycling the various bits of scrap left over from production jobs. From a conservation perspective, it just made sense not to add recyclable and reusable items to the landfills. From a financial perspective, the company realized a modest return by sending in scrap for recycling.
Through the years at STC, the number of items sent back for recycling and re-use has steadily increased, while the percentage of material sent to landfills has decreased.
So what prompted this trend in the first place?
“Spools,” says STC employee Les Vaughn. “Early on, we realized how many of our empty plastic wire spools were ending up in the landfill, so we got together and talked about what we could do about it. We spoke to our suppliers and came up with an agreement to send the spools back for re-use.”
“From there, we started recycling iron, solder dross, and wire,” Les adds. “And now, of course, we also recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, and aluminum cans.”
“Early on, we realized how many of our empty plastic wire spools were ending up in the landfill, so we got together and talked about what we could do about it. We spoke to our suppliers and came up with an agreement to send the spools back for re-use.”
In recent years, it’s become easier to find ways to conserve materials and energy. In fact, STC replaced all water fixtures with ultra-efficient models last year. Appliances and lights have also been replaced, as needed, with Energy Star models.
STC has addressed the less obvious areas of waste as well.
“There are other areas where we’ve made an effort to reduce waste,” says company President Brad Cross. “For example, we were able to get one multi-function machine to handle the job of one printer, two faxes, and a scanner.”
“We’re also vigilant about making sure our manufacturing equipment is up-to-date and works properly so we don’t end up with large amounts of scrap as it is,” says Cross.
Cross says the long-term goal is to eventually get the plant building Energy Star qualified.
“These types of building use an average of 35-percent less energy than typical buildings, so the advantage is clear.”
New Equipment Added to Lineup
STC, Inc. recently added two new components to it’s array of production equipment, increasing product versatility and decreasing production time for PC-mount transformers and mid-size toroids.
The new laminator, an HBR Industries product, is used to manufacture one of STC, Incorporated’s benchmark products.
“The products we make most often with the new laminator are the low-profile transformers that are mounted on printed-circuit assemblies,” says Vice President of Operations Angie Calkin.
These parts are most commonly used in electronics applications where vertical space is very limited but a relatively sizable output voltage is still required. Refer to the LPC Transformer page on the Sun Transformer site for more information about these types of transformers.
“The biggest advantages that come from having this laminator are the versitility it offers and the quick turnaround time in production,” says Calkin. “Our low scrap level from using this laminator has also been very impressive.”
The other new piece of equipment, a mid-size Gorman Productor II toroid winder, also benefits electronics applications with limited space.
As with the new laminator, the new winder allows STC to build a wide variety of toroids. It also enables building products that are not feasible to be built by hand.
“Some toroids require several hundred turns of wire, which is very challenging to do by hand,” says Design Engineer Les Vaughn. “Others require very small-diameter wire, and this winder can handle those types of jobs.”
“These kinds of toroids are used for a lot of circuit board assemblies, especially the very small boards that require miniaturized components, so the benefits of having this new winder are many.”
The Secret Life of an STC Intern
Nick Freed wrapped up his spring semester at St. Louis University last May. At that point, he had to decide how to spend his summer before returning to school in the Fall.
The options for a young college student are many. Two months backpacking through Europe? Studying abroad at the University of Pimpleton? Sitting at home in pajamas eating pizza and playing video games?
Nick knew a summer internship would be the most beneficial option in the long run. As an aerospace engineering student, he also knew applying one of the many associated engineering fields would help as well. So when he saw the ad for an engineering position at STC, Nick felt his stomach tighten and his spirits swell. After throwing away the pizza boxes and taking some antacid, Nick contacted STC.
To Nick, aerospace engineering is the perfect combination of all the engineering fields that pique his interest. It encompasses everything from fluid dynamics (an aircraft’s movement through air) to chemical engineering (materials used to fuel a rocket). But would an internship at STC provide experience in any of the associated engineering fields?
In short, yes it would.
Take, for example, the simple task of getting a cup of coffee for a senior staff member (me). This task incorporates Fluid Dynamics (“Nick, get me some coffee!”), Thermodynamics (“Make sure it’s hot, but not too hot.”), Materials Engineering, (“Oh, and put it in my favorite mug.”), Chemical Engineering (“Remember to use the pink sweetener.”), and even Physics (“Whoops, I spilled it in your lap, boss.”). I can’t be sure, but that last remark seemed just a bit sarcastic.
“The QA testing was beneficial because I was sort of the company’s promise to the customer that our products would work as advertised.”
In truth, Nick (a.k.a. “Nick the Intern”) hasn’t retrieved so much as one cup of coffee for anyone at the plant. However, he has been very helpful with some important projects. He was our turn-to guy when we purchased a new Watlow F4D Controller, which is used to run test profiles for our environmental chamber. He performed numerous quality assurance tests and helped write procedures for these tests.
As crazy as it sounds, Nick says those QA tests may have been the most enjoyable part of his time at STC.
“The QA testing was beneficial because I was sort of the company’s promise to the customer that our products would work as advertised.”
Nick recently returned to work at STC during his Christmas break, and will be leaving us again soon. The Watlow controller is still running environmental tests and the QA tests are still being conducted as designed. Thanks Nick, and best of luck!