SCHULTE

"SCHULTE is dedicated to shaping industry trends with the most innovative products and programs, including creating eco-friendly and sustainable processes and building materials," said Gil Foltz, executive vice president at SCHULTE. "For instance, our employees participate in waste management and scrap reducing techniques. We also invest in equipme... nt to reduce scrap." SCHULTE offers three product lines to fit any price point and all home buyer needs - freedomRail®, Classica® and Lifetime Ventilated®. All three product lines have qualities that help builders gain LEED certification points. For freedomRail and Classica wood shelving, SCHULTE uses melamine made from 100% recycled material from sustainable forests. The melamine also meets Environmental Preferable Product specification from the Composite Panel Association. For the Lifetime Ventilated product line, SCHULTE uses 100% recycled steel, which actually makes the product stronger. An epoxy powder coating is applied to all wire products instead of paint or vinyl. This epoxy coating contains no solvents and releases negligible amounts of VOCs into the atmosphere. All overspray from the coating process is recycled and reused, therefore eliminating waste that a liquid finishing would produce. This product also requires no aftermarket paint, supports ventilation, prevents mold and dust build up and requires no maintenance. SCHULTE also takes measures to reduce scrap and manage waste, such as recycling all defective steel shelves, wood pallets, brass, copper and aluminum scrap, corrugated materials, and even water. The company has invested in equipment to optimize the yield from raw board and to create tighter tolerances. In addition, SCHULTE converted all factory lighting from metal halide to a T5 fluorescent lighting system, doubling the light output while cutting kilowatt hour usage in half. And the factory runs on an automated energy management system that manages energy usage, saving thousands of BTUs of natural gas and kilowatt hours of electricity annually.Read More