News

Morgan Technical Ceramics (MTC), a business within the Morgan Ceramics Division of The Morgan Crucible Company plc, announced that its Morgan Technical Ceramics site in Hayward, California has received a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Achievement from the California Water Environmental Association (CWEA) Pretreatment, Pollution Prevention, and Stormwater (P3S) Awards Subcommittee. The award is being presented at the CWEA’s annual meeting, which will take place on February 28th, as part of the 38th Annual P3S Training Conference and Exhibition, to be held at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, California. MTC was nominated for the award by the City of Hayward Department of Public Works for achieving zero discharge of process water. It is one of only three companies in the state of California to be recognized by the CWEA.

MTC’s Hayward site manufactures ceramics used for optical and electrical applications, high purity precious and semi-precious brazing materials and ceramic-to-metal brazed assembles. The company makes subcomponents to customer specifications, which are widely used in the medical, aerospace, automobile and electronics industries.

The facility’s zero-discharge metal finishing process reduces the amount of water discharged to the city’s overburdened sanitary sewer system. Process water from the spray dryers and vibratory mills is treated by electro-coagulation and used for make-up water in the cooling tower for ceramic manufacturing. Only a small amount of sanitary water is not reused. In addition to reducing the amount of water discharged to sewers, recycling the water to the cooling tower has resulted in a reduction in water usage of at least 150,000 gallons per year, a considerable cost savings for the company.

“We are delighted to be singled out for recognition for our efforts, which are part of our commitment to adopting waste minimization and waste reduction practices,” said Mike Wentzel, director of environment, health & safety for Morgan Ceramics - North America. “The company is certified as an ISO 14001 company, and is continually investigating ways it can reduce its environmental impacts.”

CWEA’s P3S Committee promotes professional and technical excellence in the field of water pollution source control through education and training. The Facility of the Year Awards are intended to recognize outstanding and innovative solutions in multimedia waste management. The P3S Committee seeks industrial users who have demonstrated a commitment to wastewater and waste management excellence as demonstrated by their management practices, operating procedures, process choices, and community involvement. The Committee drew from more than 4000 potential industrial facilities.