News

Anco launches garage insulation kits

Dec. 9, 2009 - While the specialty construction industry slowed in 2009, Anco Products, a manufacturer of flexible duct systems and insulation, was busy developing its new eco-friendly garage door insulation kit for homeowners, rental property managers and companies worldwide.

The Anco team searched for trends to identify opportunities and develop solutions that would deliver superior bottom-line results.

"One obvious trend was the increase in do-it-yourself activity," said Anco Marketing Director Rob Rohena. "Another glaring trend were [the Green initiatives]." Due to Anco's fabrication of environment-friendly insulation since 1979, the company was slow to recognize the Green initiative as an emerging trend.

After the team brainstormed, Anco President Andy McCleery thought to create the Garage Door Insulation Kits after he fought with the foam in his own garage.

Once the Anco team researched and realized giant gaps within the industry, the company moved forward with the idea.

Anco developed and rigorously tested the product with accredited garage door installer 4T Door.

"This is by far the best garage door insulation I have ever seen," said 4T Door Owner, Jason Dean.

4T Door earned its accreditation through the Institute of Door Dealer Education and Accreditation. This was an important factor to Anco as it ensured the product was approved by an industry professional with a focus on quality and commitment to excellence.

Once the product passed tests on various garage door panels, Anco's marketing team sought the help of local professional graphic design company - Colorfly Design.

Heide Henke, owner of Colorfly Design, started the company just one month prior. Henke's experience and portfolio convinced Anco of her ability to create a retail box that would appeal to a broad audience.

"The next phase was to have this beautiful graphic image of a retail box come to life," Rohena said. Anco then selected Welch Packaging, a local box manufacturer, for experience and quality service.

"Welch puts its customers at the core of their business philosophy, and thus Anco knew it was in good hands," Rohena said. Within two weeks, Anco had a prototype.

"It's always exciting to work on a project that the customer is very passionate and open minded about," said Welch Account Manager Jay Weldy. "Together, we designed a package that will help promote not only their product, but also shows Anco's commitment to the Green initiative."

Anco welcomes distributors and wholesalers interested in nationwide distribution. Meanwhile, consumers may purchase Garage Door Insulation Kits from 4T Door via eBay®.
To learn more visit: www.ancoproductsinc.com

Anco honored for employee support

On March 20, Anco Products was awarded the Above and Beyond Award by the Indiana Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a U.S. Department of Defense organization. This prestigious award honors companies that go above and beyond legal requirements in their support of employees called into active military duty by the National Guard or Reserve.

Selected from a group of more than 1,000 companies, Anco was nominated for the award by its Regional Sales Manager Spencer England who reported to Iraq for active duty in October 2004.

“Anco has been very supportive of my National Guard and Reserve service, even when I was called on short notice,” Spencer said. “Anco outwardly recognizes me as a special asset to the company because I’m in the Army National Guard and Reserve. They keep in touch with my family when I’m on active duty and definitely deserve this award,” he said.

Spencer began as a sales representative at Anco in 2004. He was promoted to regional sales manager in May 2007.

“Whether through the support of the National Guard and Reserves, or our support of [our parent company’s] Wounded Warrior program, Anco feels it’s important to take care of soldiers and their families who sacrifice for our country,” said Anco’s National Sales Manager Mark Sorg.

Insulation Adds Value & Safety

Insulation is a significant part of any industrial operation, protecting personnel from severe temperatures, controlling condensation, increasing the efficient of processes, and improving energy sustainability and life-cycle costs. But when damaged or detached, insulation systems cannot achieve optimal performance safety is no longer certain. Properly maintaining an insulation system is vital to a plant's efficient and low cost operations.

According to a presentation by Dr. Urbi van der Velden 1, Director of the Netherlands Centre for Technical Insulation, damaged or missing insulation has an enormous impact on productivity and the environment. Approximately 150,000 barrels of oil vanish daily due to insufficient insulation. Estimates are that 5 to 10 percent of refinery systems are poorly insulated or not insulated at all in the European Union; for the United States, estimates are 20 to 25 percent. One refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day was examined and found to be losing 4,500 barrels a day due to insufficient insulation-a loss of roughly $200 million per year. Stopping the refinery's losses with proper insulation would cost approximately $25 million, with a payback time of two months. This would save 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year from being poured out into the atmosphere.

Typically, routine insulation maintenance involves removal and replacement of insulated items when facility personnel perform maintenance work. However, insulation removed by plant personnel or by other contractors' personnel is usually not replaced unless specifically noticed and reported by the employees of the in-plant or third-party insulation contractor. You might be surprised how often work orders are generated for the sole purpose of insulating or re-insulating items that should be insulated not as often as you would think. During capital expansion or upgrade projects is normally the only time work orders are generated just to apply insulation to newly installed systems (whether piping or equipment).

Turnarounds (scheduled shutdowns) and Shutdowns (un-scheduled shutdowns) usually involve the removal and replacement of insulation for the same reason the servicing of in-place insulation systems. The issue of insulation removal by other than insulation contractor workers becomes even more common (and detrimental) because workers are in a hurry and may not properly remove the insulation.

Insulation repair or replacement is nearly always one of the most cost-effective maintenance opportunities for a plant. Insulation's typical Return on Investment (ROI) is less than 6 months, and tools exist to easily calculate ROI for a specific job. One way to calculate ROI is through an insulation energy appraisal, which calculates the dollar savings of preventing Btu losses as well as greenhouse gas emissions. An appraisal is based on data supplied by a plant/energy manager and gathered during a facility walk-through. This data is input to a program that calculates the energy used and the savings on any operating period or annual basis. Useful tools are also available at the Department of Energy's website at www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/software.html.

"Insulation energy appraisals or insulation condition surveys are a great tool for identifying insulation needs to our customers. Although many plant energy (or utility) managers are becoming more aware of the importance of insulation, especially with the rapidly rising cost of energy, insulation contractors need to continue their efforts to work with these individuals regarding the potential savings that properly insulated systems offer," says Larry Nelles of Zampell, Houston, Texas.

Insulation maintenance is all too often ignored. It has been estimated that between 10 and 30 percent of all mechanical insulation that has been installed is now missing or damaged. Ignoring problems with an insulation system can lead to excessive energy loss, corrosion under insulation, mold development, increased cost of operations, and reduced process efficiency or productivity. In extreme cases, these problems could lead to loss of capacity or an emergency shutdown.

In today's energy environment, it is more important than ever to keep operations as efficient as possible. Insulation systems play a critical role and need to be properly maintained.
Rob Rohena of DIR Inc. states "Our studies show that Anco Products Inc's TextraFINE insulation outperforms every insulation around, however, it's a bit more expensive than standard insulation". He adds, "If you cannot afford the BEST, I suppose it is better to insulate with something than nothing at all".

Sources:
1- http://www.insulation.org/articles/article.cfm?id=IO080801

Despite Ike Team Anco & Grunau Hike

Team Anco & Grunau ran (or walked) 13.1 miles at the September 14, 2008 Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon during Hurricane Ike after-effects in a fundraiser to support Habitat for Humanity (H4H). According to local weather reports 8" of rain fell on race day, and over 12" accumulated during that weekend. Yet both teams agreed that the cause was well worth running through a little rain. As of race day the team raised over $12600.00 far exceeding their initial target of $10,000.00. "This goal would not have been met had it not been for the generous contributions and support of friends, family, and all of our business partners", said Andy McCleery, Anco's President. He adds," We at Anco Products have a lot to be thankful for and we appreciate everyone's help in giving something back to the community."

Last year, Anco Products made the decision to sponsor one event each year to raise money for a charitable organization that closely aligned with the company's values. Habitat for Humanity was their choice, and according to Rob Rohena, Anco's Marketing Director; "Habitat and Anco Products are a perfect fit. The homes are sold at no profit, the loan repayments help to build other Habitat housing, and of course the products going into the homes are of the highest and safest quality". Since partnering with H4H, Anco has participated in building five homes within it's local community, and now has literally run through puddles in support of this great cause.

Nine individuals from Team Anco and seven from Team Grunau signed up to participate in the race for charity. For many runners, this was their first race, so in addition to raising thousands of dollars for charity, they also had to train for the 13.1 mile race. "By providing a challenging event coupled with the higher purpose of helping others, Anco is honored to promote wellness and support a great cause" says Cheri Gearhart, Anco's Human Resources Manager and wellness advisor.

In addition to the runners, many individuals committed to help raise funds for this event. The public is invited to help in the fundraising efforts. October 6, 2008 is the last day the website will be open to sponsor the team or an individual runner. If anyone is interested in donating funds to the cause they may do so on the website: http://www.charity.active.com/teamAPi.

About: Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County, Inc. Since becoming a Habitat affiliate in 1986, Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County has built more than 117 houses with families in need, becoming a true leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds simple, decent, affordable houses with God's people in need. www.habitec.com

About: ANCO Products, Inc. Anco is a high performance, world class, environmentally responsible manufacturing company. Anco is recognized worldwide for quality products, safe and efficient work ethic, and dedication to its customers. Anco is a leading provider of Residential & Commercial Textrafine™ Insulation, flexible air ducts and connectors, Industrial Resilient Blanket, insulation for metal and post frame buildings and other high quality insulation solutions. www.ancoproductsinc.com

About: Grunau Company: Grunau is a full-service mechanical systems company, whose professional engineers are certified to design, construct and install a wide variety of systems including HVAC, plumbing, process piping, fire protection, electrical, building automation, temperature controls and specialty metals. www.grunau.com

Anco products are GREENGUARD certified

ANCO Products, Inc. has received its certification in GREENGUARD as well as the more comprehensive GREENGUARD Children & Schools^SM certification for low-emitting interior products and building materials. These certifications ensure that the use of Anco’s Textrafine™ Building Insulation and their Flexible Air Duct products will help building projects meet green building standards as set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. ANCO’s Textrafine™ Building Insulation is made from 85% recycled content, keeping several millions of pounds of glass waste products out of landfills annually. ANCO Products, Inc. is dedicated to indoor air quality as well as the environment — and will continue to find ways to set the example in environmental stewardship.

Textrafine™ Building Insulation is manufactured by a unique process where long, textile-type glass fibers are bonded together in random orientation by a stable thermosetting resin. This process produces unusually strong, resilient insulation that will return to full thickness following compression. Textrafine™ insulation is available in density from .75 lbs. ft3 (12 kgm3) to 6.0 lb. ft3 (96 kgm3) and from 1/2" (13 mm) to 6" (152 mm) depending on density.

ANCO Flexible Air Ducts are very versatile products capable of performing in a multitude of low to high pressure residential or commercial HVAC applications. ANCO Products, Inc produces 3” to 20” diameter insulated flexible air ducts in R-Values ranging from 4.2 to 8.0.

GREENGUARD Environmental Institute can be contacted at 1341 Capitol Circle, Suite A. Atlanta, Georgia 30067 and at www.greenguard.org.

Anco named Elkhart Chamber 'Company of the Month'

The Business Recognition Council has given the Business of the Month Award for December to Anco Products, Inc. Anco has been operating since 1972 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the APi Group, Inc. in Roseville, MN. In the past 10 years Anco has grown from 35 employees to over 80 while revenues have increased more than 467% in the same period. More importantly, profits have improved to as much as three times the amount that the company was losing in previous years representing a complete turn-around of the company.

Anco has three manufacturing divisions operating from its 185,000 SF facility in Elkhart that specialize in fulfilling niche applications within their respective industries. Anco’s longstanding primary revenue stream comes from its flexible air duct division which makes a myriad of Anco Flex Systems duct products for HVAC applications in residential and light commercial applications. Anco has sold products to all seven continents from its Textrafine™ division which is a recycled content insulation product sold into a multitude of OEM and industrial thermal and mechanical applications. The crown jewel of Anco is its Industrial Resilient Blanket (IRB) product that is used across the world in most cryogenic applications within liquefied natural gas tanks. Anco also started laminating metal building insulation and post frame insulation seven years ago forming its third product division that specializes in unique insulation applications for metal buildings and pole barns.

Ray Plagens, Anco’s president and CEO since 1995, summarizes the company’s success with emphasis on continuous improvement and teamwork. "Anco has performed to levels that some would have never envisioned. This success is completely due to the great ideas generated by our people. We have awesome employees with some who have been with Anco over 30 years and they have seen the good and the bad. Continuous improvement is a huge part of who we are as a company."

Dan Heatherson, Anco’s VP of Operations further explained, "Anco is seeking to become a world class manufacturing enterprise. Our quest involves win-win relationships with our employees, our customers, and our vendors. We are implementing lean manufacturing principles across our entire company that will attack waste at every opportunity. This will make our operation far more efficient and at the same time we will improve the safety and working conditions for our employees. Our customers and vendors will also benefit from these improvements as we will become far more agile and efficient."

Many other key Anco leaders contribute with their excitement. Larry Cogdill, Anco’s Lean Facilitator adds, "Anco is just at the beginning of this journey." Geoff McCuen, Anco’s Safety Leader and Human Resources Manager exalts, "We are dramatically impacting our safety culture and it also is making Anco a far better place to work and allows us to take care of our families." Rob Rohena, the Quality Program Manager, states, "Attacking waste becomes the focus of our program and that has major implications for all parts of our company." Spencer England and Mark Sorg, members of Anco’s sales force, jointly state, "As we improve our ability to cut costs and reduce waste, it will allow us to take care of our customers with better lead times and competitive pricing."

Anco hopes to emphasize the recycled content of its products far better into the future with heightened emphasis on LEED credits and eco-friendly building materials. Plagens adds, "Anco has so much to offer to builders who truly care about using a product that is 80%-90% recycled content. We have something to sell that no one else has. Combine that with all the other niche demands that we satisfy and you have a recipe for exciting times into the future. As long as we continue to focus on developing our most valuable resource, our people, we will enjoy improved performance for years to come. We place a very high priority on leadership development and the Elkhart Leadership Academy has helped Anco in that regard."

The Elkhart Chamber congratulates Anco Products, Inc. on its growth and success and the opportunities it brings to the Elkhart community.