Ryobi Die Casting, a producer of aluminum transmission casings in Shelbyville, IN, has been presented two of that state’s Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. These Awards recognize Indiana organizations that have developed and adopted environmental practices at their operations and in their decision-making, to reduce waste, lower costs, benefit Indiana’s health and welfare, and contribute to the state’s environmental protection efforts.

Lt. Governor Becky Skillman presented the awards recently to Ryobi president and COO Tom Johnson. The awards recognize Ryobi in the Recycling/Reuse and the Energy/Renewable Resources categories.

In the Recyling/Reuse project Ryobi used source reduction, recycling, environmental awareness, and employee involvement to improve operation in every area of the plant, and saved over $227,000 in 2004. The diecaster also instituted a series of other cost- and resource-saving projects.

To earn the award for Energy/Renewable Resources Ryobi developed and carried out an energy and material efficiency project that reduced its natural gas usage by 34,440 million BTU per year (27%) and kept 759,600 lb/year of aluminum dross from being produced annually. The environmental benefits include lower air emissions, lower natural-resource consumption, and less landfilled waste material.