Environmentally Responsible Manufacturing – Synonymous with CSI

From its founding, Corrugated Services has had a healthy respect for the long-term impact its operations and decisions have on the environment. After over 30 years, we continue to discover, execute and deliver on plans that help us lead the industry in this area. Our actions, investments, and activities are vetted by a strong sense of corporate responsibility, but driven by what we consider to be good profitable business. Each of our projects has a solid financial (and/or quality improvement) basis, in addition to its positive environmental impact.

In 1974 we began manufacturing 100% recycled containerboard with the start-up of our medium mill. The raw material is 90-100% post consumer fiber collected locally. Since the beginning, our managers have been pioneers in the use of recycled process water to make containerboard. Corrugated Services was perhaps the first mill in the world to successfully run a totally closed water system. As a result, our mills require 85% less water to produce a ton of paper than a typical containerboard mill. We know of only four other mills that even come close to this efficiency.

In 1996, we added premium grades of linerboard to our product line with the start up of our linerboard mill. The manufacture of a strong, good-looking, printable linerboard made with 100% recycled fibers meant that our customers could provide a 100% recycled corrugated box at no added cost. In addition, High Performance linerboards enabled the reduction of box weights without sacrificing box performance. We now have the ability to further support our customers’ desire to reduce box weight while maintaining quality. Technology is available that will allow us to use less fiber and improve sheet strength, printability, and appearance. Capital plans are underway to apply this technology to both linerboard and medium in 2008-2009.

Energy is also an area of opportunity. Steam and electricity are required to produce containerboard. We have historically purchased our electricity and burned natural gas in our boilers to produce steam. Natural gas is the cleanest fuel known, but other renewable, sustainable, or efficient options are within our grasp. In 2006, we completed the installation of a cogeneration system which generates all the steam and electricity the medium mill requires. It uses natural gas, but operates at nearly 100% thermal efficiency. Since this efficiency is well above that of producing steam and electricity independently, it significantly reduced the energy required for us to produce a ton of paper (thus reducing our costs as well as our impact on the environment).

In 2008, we expect to eliminate our dependence on natural gas for steam and power production in the linerboard mill. We are replacing our existing boiler with a bio-mass fueled boiler. The new boiler will have the latest and greatest emissions reduction technology while burning a renewable, sustainable bio-mass fuel extracted from the waste stream. It is sized to generate all the steam and about a quarter of the electricity needed to run the linerboard mill. In addition, we intend to purchase our remaining electrical needs from companies using wind powered generators. The bio-mass boiler coupled with purchased wind power will take our linerboard mill to a near zero carbon footprint. That will be a great milestone for Corrugated Services.

Not a bad list and all of it is either already in place or well underway.

Corrugated Services' mills may already be the most environmentally friendly mills in the world, and soon will be even better. We plan to continue our pioneering ways. It is good business, it is the right thing to do, it helps us sleep better at night, and maybe, just maybe, it gives our customers’ customers a competitive edge.