In this edition:
Feature article
Tri-Mach Group Goes Green
At Tri-Mach Group, we take pride in our commitment to the environment and sustainability. We believe in protecting our planet by being role models within our industry. We have always made a conscious effort to ensure our facilities operate in the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Over the years we have implemented various sustainability initiatives across the company to decrease our negative impact on the environment and promote green health across our company. Through these initiatives, we work towards our goal of reducing waste, carbon use, and unneeded water usage. Most recently, we have partnered with a local non-profit organization, Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR), to receive expert advice on improving our green practices. The support and collaboration from SWR will focus on systems of energy, mobility, and buildings to create a sustainable environment. We are thrilled to be upgrading our sustainability practices and partnering with an organization as dedicated to green initiatives and practices as ours.
To reduce energy consumption, each of our facilities are strategically designed to allow an abundance of natural light. With our recent expansions, natural lighting was top of mind in the initial building design, and LED efficient lighting was installed on motion sensors to further cut energy consumption. Additionally, Tri-Mach Group has set a goal of being completely paperless by 2025. Engineering drawings have gone digital in our shop, safety paperwork is completely being stored online through SiteDocs’ digital database, wipe-down notebooks were gifted to employees, and much more. Furthermore, we actively participate in recycling programs with our cardboard, paper, stainless steel, and battery usage. Another major environmental goal of ours this year is to reduce our water consumption. Our new building has implemented reverse osmosis water taps generating clean drinking water while being an energy-efficient alternative to bottled water. Throughout our manufacturing, as minimal water is used as possible during any wash-down on machining processes.
Following our commitment to green practices, we have installed electric car charging stations for our employees, clients, and visitors with electrically powered vehicles. We are further looking to begin adding green vehicles to our fleet beginning this year, to cut carbon consumption during travel. To further cut unnecessary travel, we have begun offering improved first-hand remote support to customers, allowing us to assist through their eyes.
Here at Tri-Mach, we believe in providing and participating in sustainable practices for not only our employees and community but our customers as well. With this in mind, we have recently launched Green-Kleen™. Green-Kleen™ is a sustainable package offered to our customers to upgrade the sustainability of their products. The features of Green-Kleen™ upgrade environmental and sustainable considerations while optimizing product functionality for the customer.
As we continue to grow, our commitment to environmental consciousness grows with us. We strive to continue reducing our carbon footprint further in the future, by bringing in external sustainability experts to assist in setting green milestones for water, carbon, and waste. We are always looking for ways to make our daily practices more efficient and environmentally friendly. Going forward, green is our goal in all areas of production, and in our mentality.
Food Safety 101
Developing a Food Safe Culture
At Tri-Mach, developing equipment with the highest possible Food Safety is what sets us apart in the industry. A culture where food safety is a top priority starts at the top of every organization. However, food safety in manufacturing is more than a simple policy or process, it is a mentality that every employee should represent. Food safety starts in the culture of a company. While ‘visible culture’ such as implanting rules and regulations is a good practice, companies should go above and beyond to ensure the ‘invisible culture’ matches these standards.
The invisible culture of a company is the most adequate representation of the true values held about food safety within an organization. There is not a single method of food safety, rather the process varies with each food system. It is critical for companies to maintain strong food safety standards to understand the process and safety practices for each food system. Food safety is a mentality driven in all aspects of manufacturing from processes, practices, equipment selection, and sanitation. By creating a company culture and environment that maintains high food safety as the standard, it becomes second nature. Food Safety is a crucial standard for manufacturing companies, if not taken seriously, poor food safety practices can lead to detrimental repercussions.
At Tri-Mach everything we do revolves around our Ever-Kleen® food-safe mentality. Each year about 1 in 8 Canadians are affected by a food-borne illness. Our Ever-Kleen® technology was developed to assist companies to ensure food safety is the top priority. With Ever-Kleen® it is easy for companies to prioritize food safety and reinforce a food safety culture. Through years of setting the standard on sanitary solutions, we have developed a strong company culture regarding the importance of both food and employee safety. Each of our employees receives extensive training on the importance and practices of food safety, following HACCP guidelines. As food safety culture continues to develop, expand, and become more refined, our employee’s Food Safety training grows with these adaptations and reflects the food safety best practices.
https://www.tri-mach.com/ever-kleen/
Be Confident in Your Food Safety Culture | Food Manufacturing
Yearly food-borne illness estimates for Canada – Canada.ca
New at Tri-Mach
Tri-Mach Welcomes New Senior Director of Engineering
Tri-Mach Group Inc. is thrilled to welcome Geoff Furlong as our Senior Director of Engineering. Geoff comes from an extensive background in manufacturing, engineering, automation, and design, and is the perfect addition to lead our engineering team.
In his role as Sr. Director, Geoff oversees engineering, automation, and product innovation for all three companies, Tri-Mach, Advance Millwrights, and Industrial Contracting Solutions. Geoff’s goal is to focus on seamless communication within the departments and to the organization. He emphasizes the importance of complete transparency with employees and managers to optimize working production, resulting in quicker turnaround times for the customer. Ensuring employees have visibility and access to metrics is an area Geoff looks to improve, allowing the team to understand where we are currently and where we are headed. Another top priority is supporting employees to reach their personal goals, while simultaneously contributing to the company’s overarching goals.
Tri-Mach Group’s drive for innovation and creativity alongside Geoff’s knowledge and leadership is set to inspire employees to reach their full potential and help our customers meet their objectives. Geoff’s focus on constant and continual improvement aligns with the company’s vision to be the number one choice for employees and customers, alike.
We are pleased to welcome Geoff to the team during this time of pivotal growth!
Industry Trends
A Fresh Method for Fresh Food: Vertical Farming
As demand for fresh local food continues to grow in North America and fertile farming land decreases, a sustainable solution for growing food is required. Vertical Farming offers many benefits such as reduction of carbon footprints and improving sustainable practices of all those involved including farmers, producers, and consumers.
Some other benefits of Vertical Farming include:
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- Reliable year-round crop production
- Crops are protected from intense weather conditions
- Maximizing use of space
- Minimizing water usage
- Environmentally friendly
- No chemicals or pesticides
- Reduction of transportation costs
- Highly energy efficient
- Safer working conditions for farmers and staff
- Lower labour costs
- Reliable year-round crop production
Vertical Farming is the process of planting, growing, and producing crops that are traditionally grown outdoors in a controlled indoor setting. Elements such as lighting, nutrients,
water, and temperature are all controlled and constantly monitored. This increased control over the growing environment allows elements to be easily and quickly changed to meet the needs of the specific crop. The life cycle stage of each crop dictates the environmental needs for the plant to have optimal growth. Vertical Farming’s purpose is not to replace traditional farming, but rather the two will work together to combat the growing demand for food. As the popularity of Vertical Farming grows so does the information and science behind the method. Many vertical farms utilize conveyor systems or other automated systems to enhance crop production and control water usage. Each vertical farm operates uniquely and continues to adapt its processes as more knowledge and technological advancements occur.
Here at Tri-Mach our specialization in automation and advanced solutions provide us the privilege to create customized operations for Vertical Farmers. Our expertise in the agriculture industry allows us to confidently design, produce, and install equipment and materials that cater to the needs of our customers. Looking to start your Vertical Farming journey? Visit tri-mach.com to learn about how we can help!
Booming Vertical Farming Business May Be an Answer to Feeding the World | Food Manufacturing
Vertical farming on the rise – Food In CanadaFood In Canada
The 10 biggest advantages of vertical farming (hortidaily.com)
Product Showcase
Introducing Green-Kleen™- A Sustainable Solution
At Tri-Mach, our continual striving for sustainability affects not only our internal practices but also impacts our customer’s operations. To ensure we align our custom solutions with our customer’s corporate sustainability values and initiatives, we have created an environmentally friendly all-in-one solution for our equipment.
Introducing Green-Kleen™; A sustainability, and environmentally friendly oriented product group within our equipment range. The Green-Kleen™ package gives our customers the option to reduce the environmental impact of their equipment, while simultaneously reducing long-term costs. While Tri-Mach has been using environmentally friendly practices in most ways for some time now, Green-Kleen™ is the next step that takes our expertise into our customer’s operations. Part of the package involves consulting with our customers on how small changes to equipment design can impact their bottom line significantly through the reduction of waste. This effort is being jointly led by our Project Managers and our Innovation Department.
While improving the energy efficiency of components on equipment is a great place to start, often the greater cause of carbon footprint comes from lost product or equipment sanitization. For example, each chicken wing that falls on the floor during production has a carbon cost associated with it – largely based on what it took to grow and slaughter the bird. During washdown operations, equipment design can greatly reduce the amount of water used to achieve proper sanitization levels. Our Green-Kleen™ technology effectively reduces both types of costly waste. By utilizing special materials with a focus on material transfers from operation to operation we can greatly reduce the amount of wasted product.
Green-Kleen™ starts with the training and development of our team. Our designers are currently undergoing sustainable design training to help them think outside the box when it comes to environmentally friendly solutions. We have also partnered with an external sustainability organization who are experts in the food and beverage industries, to assist in our green ideas and practices, both internally and externally, and to hold us accountable to our goals of being industry leaders in sustainability.
Looking to upgrade your equipment? Our innovation department is here to help. To speak with one of our experts about improving your equipment efficiency contact us at sales@tri-mach.com.
A Message From Our Chairman
We’ve hit the ground running in 2022. Tri-Mach and our sister companies, Advance Millwrights and Industrial Contracting Solutions have all had an excellent start to the year. We continue to welcome new members to our team, each bringing invaluable skills and assets as we grow. We are thrilled to welcome our new Senior Director to the Engineering team, Geoff Furlong, who will be pivotal in leading the engineering department to new heights in years to come. Outside Ontario, Tri-Mach experienced the expansion and further development of our Manitoba and US Divisions, which have both experienced tremendous success serving customers in their surrounding areas.
As everything begins to feel normal again, I would like to thank each of our employees who have overcome any barriers put in front of them over the past year. Our dedicated team always rises to the occasion to get the job completed, which has truly made us an industry leader in skilled trades. As an employer of choice, we were also pleased to welcome Premier Doug Ford to our facility in March, for a tour and to speak to our team directly. We are grateful to have the Ontario government aligned with our commitment to supporting skilled trades, furthering our impact in the market.
Thank you for reading this edition of IMPACT.
Ryan Martin
Chairman
Tri-Mach Inc.