Heil picks its color

Heil Environmental, a Chattanooga-based garbage truck manufacturer, is reducing waste and cleaning up its act in all aspects of its business, officials said.

The company is addressing sustainability and trying to reduce its so-called carbon footprint in administrative work, manufacturing and in the products it markets, said Chris Dutton, media development manager for Heil Environmental at its 5751 Cornelison Road headquarters.

“One of the first things we have to do is measure where we are,” he said. “We are just getting started, but we are optimistic that we can be an industry leader.”

The company, which has about 30 employees in Chattanooga and some 500 at its manufacturing facility in Fort Payne, Ala., recently formed a “cross-sectional” team. It has representatives from the company’s finance, information technology, sales, marketing and manufacturing divisions to study how Heil has done business and where it can improve.

The company has begun printing its literature on recycled paper and is gradually moving toward electronic materials to reduce the amount of paper it consumes. Even the steel used in the garbage trucks it manufactures is made from 95 percent of recycled materials.

Randy Brown, vice president for sales and marketing, said Heil’s display booth at a national trade show in Las Vegas in June will be made from recycled materials.

The seats will be fashioned from upturned aluminum trash cans with cushions, the boards are made from recycled wood and the aluminum and signage all will be made from recycled products.

“All of this is a complete sea change from what is happening now in the marketplace,” Mr. Brown said.

At the trade show, Heil will have six to eight “refuse collection trucks” on display. Mr. Brown said several of those will be CNG units, meaning they run on compressed natural gas.

The move to be more environmentally conscious stems from a portion of President Barak Obama’s economic stimulus plan called the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, or Dera, that provides about $300 million in incentives for municipalities and businesses to switch to greener and more efficient vehicles.

Mr. Brown said Dera won’t directly benefit Heil, but it could benefit Heil customers who opt to switch from diesel-powered trucks to compressed natural gas vehicles.

Officials declined to release Heil’s sales figures, but Mr. Brown said the company sells about 3,000 trucks a year.

Also, the company is promoting fully automated vehicles that officials claim can cover 20 percent more area with only one operator rather than a conventional truck that requires two to three people.

“If there ever was a time for municipalities to convert to energy-efficient vehicles, now is that time,” Mr. Brown said. “We are excited about this. We have a unique opportunity because of the industry we are in.”