Océ Announces Winner of its Third Annual "Green Reprographer of the Year" Award
ProRepro Recognized for Exceptional Sustainable Business
Practices
May 20, 2010, Trumbull, CT - Océ, an international leader in
digital document management, today announced the winner of its
third annual, "Green Reprographer of the Year" award during the
IRgA 2010 Annual Convention and Trade Show held May 19-21 in Palm
Springs, CA. ProRepro, Orange County's fastest growing
reprographics company, was selected as the winner from a pool of
qualified entrants who submitted applications via Océ's website.
Applicants outlined their achievements in the area of green
business practices and highlighted how these efforts have assisted
their customers to meet their own sustainability goals.
"In recognition of their continued efforts to promote
sustainability throughout their business operations, we are proud
to congratulate ProRepro as the winner of Océ's third annual 'Green
Reprographer of the Year' award," said Patrick Chapuis, President,
Wide Format Printing Systems division of Océ North America. "The
numerous entries for this award demonstrate the commitment by these
forward-thinking reprographers to establish and promote
environmentally conscious business practices. Océ is proud to
support reprographers that are continually striving to reduce their
impact on the environment by providing eco-friendly, sustainable
equipment capable of producing the highest quality prints."
An independent panel of judges, including Denise Gustavson, Editor
of Wide-Format Imaging magazine, Robert Cassidy, Editor-in-Chief of
Building Design+Construction magazine, and Ed Avis, principal of Ed
Avis Associates, a communications firm specializing in the imaging
industry, and author of The Green Reprographics Handbook, selected
ProRepro as the winner based on its enterprise-wide dedication to
sustainability.
Making Sustainability a Number One Priority
Since its founding in 2006, ProRepro has strived to incorporate
sustainability throughout its business operations. This is evident
in their use of products that reduce the negative impact on the
environment. ProRepro's entire fleet of reprographic equipment is
ENERGY STAR® rated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other
pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy. Ninety percent
of its equipment has been converted to solid toner or cartridge
free technology, dramatically reducing landfill and energy costs
related to storage. And, unless otherwise specified, all jobs are
run on FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified as well as 30%
post consumer waste recycled paper.
The company also developed an alternative sustainable product to
replace Gatorboard® or foam core. Previously, Eco-board was the
most widely used sustainable indoor signage product, but it
presented inherent problems, such as honey-combing, dog-earing,
lack of rigidity, and it was highly expensive to add a rigid
support sheet. ProRepro's Pro Board™ is a 100% recycled and
biodegradable alternative that is highly durable, attractive, and
is priced the same as Gatorboard; thereby encouraging customers to
choose the environmentally sound solution.
"I was impressed by ProRepro's efforts to find their own green
solutions. When they determined the eco-friendly mounting board
they were using had performance problems, they developed their own
100% recycled alternative," commented Ed Avis.
ProRepro also developed an innovative recycling program, which is
available to its clients. SRS: Sustainable Reprographic Solutions™
recycling program provides client-site based receptacles, regular
new job pick-ups when delivering finished jobs, and sorting
services. All paper is then sorted at ProRepro's in-house recycling
center and sold to the proper recyclers. The company donates all
labor and costs associated with the recycling program for free and
100% of the funds collected from the recyclers are donated to the
client's charity of choice. Over 50 charities have been supported
as a result of the program.
Applying Eco-Conscious Operations Internally
To support environmental conservation internally, certain
employee programs have also been established. ProRepro utilizes a
"flex" hour system, which allows employees to stay later on days to
finish projects allowing for shorter workdays or additional days
off in the future. This "flex" program helps employees cut down on
gas emissions to and from the office, as well as associated
traveling expenses. Employees can set their own schedule and cut
out as many as two days per pay period, reducing their emission and
traffic impact by as much as 20%.
ProRepro also strives to keep its facility changes environmentally
friendly. The company recently repainted with low VOC paint, it is
implementing the use of solar panels on the building roof, most
office lights have been outfitted with compact florescent bulbs,
lighting is occupancy based, and plastic water bottle waste has
been reduced by up to 200 bottles per week thanks to a clean water
filtration system. ProRepro also supports sustainability on the
road. All company vehicles are rated at a minimum of 35mpg, and the
company's vehicle fleet includes Toyota® Prius® and Scion® models,
which reach an impressive 45mpg.
Making a Mark on the Community
ProRepro's dedication to sustainability also extends to its
community. President Cindy Kennedy is the chairperson of one of
Home Aid's Project Playhouse Team. This annual fundraising event
raises money to support housing for temporarily homeless
individuals and families through the construction of elaborate
children's playhouses. ProRepro's 2010 playhouse will be the first
hands-on, sustainable experience for children.
Designed as a mini "ocean institute" called the Ocean Lab,
children will be able to conduct their own experiments on clean
water, pollution, and environmental impact. The playhouse will be a
100% solar powered building and bear an honorary LEED®
certification. The playhouse will be auctioned off during the
event's grand gala, with all the proceeds going to Home Aid.
"ProRepro has done an excellent job of incorporating
sustainability throughout its entire operation, including the
products they use, their office design and their employee
programs," said Robert Cassidy. "They are a forward-looking company
that is clearly capable of technical innovation, reducing its own
environmental impact, and driving a strong sense of community
involvement."
About Océ's Dedication to Sustainability
Sustainability has been part of Océ's DNA for the past 130+
years. This includes their innovative three-tiered approach to
supporting sustainability: 1) Create and design sustainable
products; 2) Utilize environmentally conscious manufacturing; 3)
Enable customers to operate in a sustainable way (i.e. print at
lower heat, produce the least amount of detectable ozone, be
compatible with 30% post-consumer waste recycled media).
To help its customers minimize their environmental impact, Océ
focuses on four key areas in product design. They are:
- Minimize incorrect and unnecessary prints
- Minimize energy consumption per print
- Maximize reuse of materials and minimize non-reusable
waste
- Minimize emissions of ozone, toner, dust and noise
This eco-friendly approach to product development is evident in
many of Océ's printing solutions, including the popular Océ Eco
Design family of printers. These printers distinguish themselves
from conventional technologies by their extremely low energy
consumption, quiet operation and low ozone and heat
emissions.
For more information about how Océ can help you meet your
sustainability goals visit, www.oce.com/sustainability.
About ProRepro
ProRepro is a leading provider of reprographics technologies and
document production. Our pledge is to establish long term
relationships with our clients by exceeding their expectations and
gaining their trust through exceptional performance and impeccable
quality. Enhancing our clients' ability to effectively communicate
their ideas is our passion.
About Océ
Océ is a leading international provider of digital document
management technology and services. The company's solutions are
based on Océ's advanced software applications that deliver
documents and data over internal networks and the Internet to
printing devices and archives - locally and around the world.
Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and
scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world.
Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and
outsourcing solutions.
Océ employs around 22,000 people, with 2009 revenues of
approximately $3.7 billion, operates in around 100 countries and
maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands,
the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech
Republic, Romania and Singapore. Océ North America is headquartered
in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL; New
York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT and Vancouver, BC.
North America represents over 37% of Océ's worldwide revenues, and
employment is over 9,000. For more information about Océ, visit
www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult
http://global.oce.com.
"Océ" and the Océ logo are registered trademarks of
Océ-Technologies B.V. All other product and company names are
trademarks or registered trademarks and are the property of their
owners and are respectfully acknowledged.
