Ceres plant recycles plastic bottles into insulation. See how else it’s going green
Recycled plastic bottles are now part of the process at Kingspan Insulated Panels in Ceres.
The Morgan Road plant also will install solar panels as part of the parent company’s efforts on behalf of the planet.
And its looks to hire a few more people to join the 100 or so already working there. The company website listed five job openings as of Friday.
Kingspan has operated since 2008 in the 138,500-square-foot plant. It makes panels with plastic foam cores between metal sheets, which become part of building envelopes for commercial and industrial customers.
“You can save on the heating and cooling,” plant manager Trevor Hearty said during a June 1 visit by The Modesto Bee.
Each panel now has 9% to 12% recycled plastic content, depending on thickness. This helps reduce the carbon emissions behind climate change.
The 1.4-megawatt solar array will be installed in next next three months, Hearty said.
The $23 million worth of upgrades also nearly doubled the speed of the panel manufacturing, a news release said.
Kingspan was founded in 1965 in Kingscourt, Ireland. It now employs about 15,500 people at 166 plants in 70 nations. Insulation is its main business, but it also is involved in lighting, ventilation, water systems and fuel storage.
Insulation has been part of the green economy since the 1970s. It keeps heated or chilled air from escaping through walls, floors and ceilings. Kingspan has refined the product for use in warehouses, computer data centers and many other places.
The Ceres plant is part of the company’s Planet Passionate program. It aims by 2030 to get 60% of power from renewable sources and to recycle 1 billion water bottles a year. Kingspan also hopes to stop sending its own processing waste to landfills.
“We need to address every aspect of sustainability when it comes to the built environment,” said Brent Trenga, director of sustainability, in the release.
By coincidence, another building material manufacturer with Irish roots is just around the corner on East Whitmore Road. Entekra assembles wood frames that are then hauled to home construction sites.
