RED LION, Pa. — A York County business announced Tuesday it has completed installation of a 55,000-gallon underground rainwater harvesting system that will collect an estimated 1.3 million gallons of water every year.
Tate Inc., which manufacturers raised access floors and data center management solutions, will use the water -- collected from roof runoff and groundwater -- in the manufacturing process at its Red Lion facility, the company said.
The filtered rainwater will be mixed with cement and other ingredients to create a cementitious mixture that fills the company’s steel ConCore raised access floor panels.
“This rainwater harvesting system will have a major impact on our company sustainability goals," said Tate general manager Daniel Kennedy. "Not only are we reducing our demand on municipal water supplies and storm water drainage systems, but we’re also reducing rainwater runoff which can carry harmful pollutants to our local waterways.
“Our concrete fill line is one of the most water-intensive parts of our manufacturing process, so we’re excited to make the transition to 100% rainwater for that process.”
As a division of Kingspan, Tate is part of the company’s ambitious ten-year global sustainability program, Planet Passionate.
All Kingspan companies throughout the world participate in the initiative, which aims to impact three major global issues: climate change, circularity and protection of our natural world, the company said.
The rainwater harvesting system was installed as part of the Planet Passionate program and the water collected at the Red Lion facility will make up about 20% of the company’s total water usage and nearly 25% of the total water usage at that facility, Tate said.
The system will also contribute 5% of Kingspan’s 2030 goal of collection 100 million liters annually across all its divisions.
Other Planet Passionate initiatives that Tate is implementing include the elimination of all company waste being sent to landfill, which was achieved in 2020, installing rooftop solar PV systems on its owned manufacturing facilities and making the conversion to all electric company cars, according to the company.
The Eco-Rain system that was chosen for this rainwater harvesting project is made up of 100% recycled crates that were assembled on-site and wrapped with a protective liner to collect the rainwater, according to the company.
Tate partnered with local company Hydroscapes for the design and installation of the system.
For more information about the Planet Passionate program or the rainwater harvesting system, visit https://www.tateinc.com/en-us/learning-center/sustainability.
