URBAN CAMPUS PROJECT

Visitors to West 8th Street in Kansas City’s Central Industrial District will see Faultless’ renovated and historically registered office building, high efficiency manufacturing plant, and state-of-the art warehousing facility – together – surrounded by clean well-lit streets and secure parking. However, just a few years ago, the same visitor would have seen a lone Faultless Starch/Bon Ami plant surrounded by crumbling burnt-out buildings, pock-marked streets, and decaying bridges and sewers.

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE MANUFACTURING & WAREHOUSE FACILITY

Our goal is to increase our operating efficiency and reuse materials while decreasing waste and energy usage. Focusing on that goal, we are continually updating our facility with sustainable features. We upgraded our aerosol manufacturing line which increased production efficiency and reduced raw material waste, including decreasing VOC emissions by 74%. After consolidating and moving our warehousing operations to our manufacturing plant location, we were able to eliminate truck transportation between the two operations with a new product conveyor system, further improving our efficiency. We have also established a new energy management program that involves closely monitoring our energy usage and making changes where we can to increase efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint. We have upgraded our warehouse lighting to be more energy efficient, and we plan on upgrading the rest of our lighting in the manufacturing plant in the next year. Recently we added solar panels to our warehouse to capture renewable solar energy. We began auditing our water usage, and found that by making changes to our process, we were able to decrease our water usage by more than 24%. In addition, we have significantly reduced what we send to the landfill by minimizing production loss and recycling supply packaging and steel cans. And recently we have partnered to recycle our corrugated packaging waste. We are continuing to investigate ways to improve our operations and be more sustainable.

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES OF SEWALL RENOVATION

Kansas City’s West Bottoms has been home to the Faultless Starch Bon Ami Company since the Company was founded in 1887. For many years, Faultless had used the 1903 Sewall Paint and Glass Building, adjacent to our original plant, as a production facility, laboratory and warehouse. After a 1998 general alarm fire in the West Bottom, Faultless rehabilitated the Sewall Building into our corporate Headquarters, combining historic rehabilitation with environmental sustainability. Many original windows were restored and supplemented with interior storm windows to insulate the tenants of the building from the noise of the railroads and the heat and cold transferred from the steel window muntins. Those windows that could not be repaired were replaced with new energy efficient windows that match the historic profile of the sashes. The exterior masonry was repointed and cleaned, and a new roof and insulating membrane installed with photovoltaic solar panels. Throughout the building, distinctive elements of the heavy timber structure, cast iron connections, track-mounted fire doors and masonry walls were repaired and le- exposed to celebrate the building’s historic qualities. An open, skylight-capped steel and timber stairway, featuring 138 hand-blown glass globes, was created to spatially connect and bring visual continuity to the building. Carving out the center stairwell opening provided le-over joists and girders of old growth heart pine timber which were milled and refashioned into unique office furniture and picture frames, as well as siding and stair treads for the center stairwell. Weighty 4’ x 8’ dock plates from the former warehouse were cut down for use as thresholds for all of the doors. An old freight elevator shaft was filled in, but to remind current occupants of its first life, the spot was turned into an office with the old elevator gate as the door. Other features of the old paint factory and warehouse were retained as well such as its sliding fire doors and salvaged brick that was used for utility chases.