NCMS Launches Online Solvent Savings Calculator

Tool Will Help Manufacturers Estimate Value of Recycling

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 4 -- The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has upgraded its website to include information on cost-saving, solvent-recycling programs.

NCMS's online solvent database now enables users to calculate how much material and money can be saved by recycling rather than purchasing new solvent, according to Dr. Paul Chalmer, NCMS program manager.

"There's really not much difference between throwing solvent away and throwing money away," Chalmer says. "Our solvent database, SOLV-DB, has helped thousands of companies, and our new cost-calculator is expected to be a popular new online feature."

NCMS member Gage Products, a leading global supplier of solvents, test fuels and solvent-recycling technology, sponsors SOLV-DB. Gage also offers industrial users of SOLV-DB the opportunity to get a free laboratory analysis of their solvent waste stream, providing a detailed assessment of their recycling choices and associated cost-savings potential.

"At Gage, we are dedicated to responsible resource management that results in long-term benefits for our environment," notes Gage President Donald Dixon. "Being environmentally responsible provides other benefits as well: We've also saved our industrial customers millions of dollars through their recycling efforts."

NCMS has created SOLV-DB to allow a broader range of users to explore their recycling choices. An accurate calculation of recycling costs involves many variables, but with help from Gage, drawing on their considerable experience in solvent recycling, NCMS is now able to provide a simple tool that provides a reasonable estimate based on a few key variables.

The NCMS database is available online at: http://solvdb.ncms.org/savingsdata.htm .

About NCMS

NCMS is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortial effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes and practices. NCMS has more than 18 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector.

About Gage Products Co.

Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., Gage has facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. The company also is a leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent remanufacturing systems. Its paint-system solvent-recovery processes are used in a majority of North America's automotive assembly plants and have attracted the attention of European and Asia-Pacific manufacturers as well. Additional information about Gage is available on the Internet at http://www.gageproducts.com/ .