Cooper Hand Tools

Cooper Hand Tools Ensuring Environmental Excellence

In 2002, Cooper Tools Albury (now known as Cooper Hand Tools) won the Silver Award in the Cooper Industries Worldwide 2002 Environmental Excellence Awards. The silver selection was out of 52 project nominations received from Cooper’s 130 facilities worldwide, and speaks highly of the employee commitment to using sound environmental practices.

The win encouraged Cooper Tools to become actively involved in the Padman Park – Mates Park project in West Albury and it generously donated the total prize of $10,000 to parklands to undertake works such as tree planting, weed control and a walking track along the beautiful Murray River. This is another great example of non aligned cooperation and ownership between business and the community.

Mr. Peter Reynoldson, Managing Director Australia/General Manager Asia Pacific, said that the Albury-Wodonga facility has progressively re-engineered its manufacturing of Lufkin measuring tapes ensuring environmental excellence. This is a three-stage project involving printing, clear coating and painting, using only ultraviolet light (UV) cured materials to completely eliminate solvents where emissions of 60% were flashed into the atmosphere.

The project further significantly cut electrical consumption for infra red heat drying, reduced non-recoverable scrap, manufacturing costs and floor space while improving both quality and productivity.  Because of UV instant drying, three separate re-spooling processes will ultimately be combined into one in-line process utilising new photo polymer printing belts developed cooperatively between Wilkinson Printers and Cooper Tools, new Anolox ceramic rollers for ink and coating application and new UV light ovens.  Work-in-process is already down by 50% while savings have helped us remain competitive against import competition.

This Environmental Excellence Award has afforded employees a valuable opportunity to have an ongoing dialogue with our community and shows how private enterprise can add value as a neighbour and supplier. Our employees’ interest and participation in the program has been unyielding and they should be congratulated on their ongoing success.

Cliff Swatton, Chairman of parklands said “parklands offers its congratulations to Mr Peter Reynoldson on his factory’s achievement of being awarded the Cooper Industries “Silver Award" for Environmental Excellence resulting from their manufacturing innovations.”

“We are very pleased to welcome and acknowledge the support from Cooper Tools Albury-Wodonga and their staff, in passing on “their award” to parklands for the development of Padman Park – Mates Park, demonstrating their commitment to the environment of Albury-Wodonga in which their factory operates, and their staff work and live.”

Office Opening

In February 2003, Mr Peter Reynoldson officially opened parklands new office building on Gateway Island

Corporate Support

Following a presentation to a range of business leaders in Albury Wodonga, Cooper Hand Tools once again showed its support for the regional parklands by offering to fund the printing of parklands Corporate Information Booklet.  This edition will be available in early March 2006.  If you would like a copy, please click here: http://www.parklands-alburywodonga.org.au/contact/index.asp .