Method factory
On first sight, Chicago’s Pullman District may not seem like the place you might expect to find one of the United States’ most progressive factories. Passing a giant Walmart and dilapidated buildings on a once prosperous brownfield site in a deprived suburb of the country’s third largest city, the first sign is a large 600 kW wind turbine. As the factory itself comes into view it’s unmissable with its façade of unpainted concrete adorned with rows of brightly coloured banners. Three large solar panels rise above the parking lot, giving shade to the cars parked beneath on sunny days.
Housed inside this unassuming yet colourful former steel mill is the Method factory. One of the People Against Dirty brands, owned by S C Johnson, Method manufactures design-driven home, fabric and personal care products formulated with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients. To put it in the company’s own words, it “puts the hurt on dirt without doing harm to people, creatures or the planet.”
And it doesn’t stop there. As IE learned from the hours spent speaking, listening and watching the facility at work, Method is rewriting the rule book on manufacturing – and it’s succeeding.
Following the acquisition by Belgian eco-cleaning product company Ecover in 2012, Method found that it had the financial muscle to become what it wanted to be – at the vanguard of green industry - with a facility that is the physical embodiment of the company’s philosophy.
Two guys and a bathtub
Method was founded by roommates Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan. “Your classic two guys with a bathtub, made a product, went out and sold it story,” explained Kirk Jaglinski, Director of Engineering & Technical Services.
The pair were part of the soap industry for a while before branching out on their own. They wanted to disrupt the industry and make something without the levels of harmful chemicals used in traditional soaps and detergents.
As Jaglinksi explained: “For example, a lot of sanitation is done using bleach. If you look at bleach, it has a lot of negative environmental impacts.”
“The idea is making it safer, friendlier and more environmentally responsible through the whole chain. Because that’s the point. We want to make it safe to the point where you could ingest it.”
There are stories that in some of the early sales pitches, one of the founders used to actually drink the all-purpose-cleaner from the bottle to demonstrate its safety and chemical-free credentials.
Partnering with Rockwell Automation
Logistically, maximising efficiency, not to mention the usual issues for manufacturing is a mammoth task, not made easier by the increasingly varied demands of customers. With such a vast array of products on the market and outlets to sell them in, getting the technology right is a key priority, which is where Rockwell Automation comes in.
Steve Mulder, Regional Segment Manager of CBG at Rockwell North America remarked: “Take the example of groceries sold at gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies. With so many options, it’s a big job from a production standpoint. And it’s all to meet the changing consumer needs and preferences.”
“This challenge translates to some interesting things on the floor.”
Rockwell’s involvement with Method was to “connect people’s imagination with the potential of machines. We want to be the enabler,” he added.
Method inside
Credit: Steven Gislam / Industry Europe
The world’s only LEED platinum factory
It’s understandable why this project is an exciting one for those involved. This is not your standard soap factory. This is the world’s only LEED platinum soap factory. And the company has clearly taken the effort to go the extra mile. This is reinforced with a second accolade – following an 18-month waste analysis by the US Green Building Council, Method was awarded a second platinum status, for “True Zero Waste” - the first factory to be awarded both honours.
The attention to detail in terms of environmental impact is clear, and the more you learn, the more impressive it becomes. South-facing windows and skylights to let the natural light in; “bringing the outdoors in instead of creating light through electricity,” as Production Director, Shannon McCann put it.
Looking outside those windows, we learn that the ground had to be decontaminated from the residue of its steelmaking past. The vegetation surrounding the building is comprised of native grasses and shrubs – giving the piece of land in front of the factory a look and feel more akin to that which would have been in that spot for centuries before the arrival of European settlers. There are spots allocated for beekeeping, thus aiding pollination, and the land is also home to a lot of snakes, who take shelter in the warmth of the building’s foundations during the winter months.
The Method plant is heated entirely by heat from the machines. Even in the depth of winter, the machines produce enough heat to keep things toasty.
All the soap made in this facility uses natural, biodegradable ingredients, but this isn’t just a soap factory, it makes its own packaging. Method stopped buying in plastic bottles from suppliers and now all bottles are made onsite from 100% recycled plastic, along with the film that wraps it too. The whole process is dealt with in the factory and even the delivery trucks use biodiesel.
Method factory floor
Credit: Steven Gislam / Industry Europe
Gotham Greens on the roof
Part of the building’s design criteria was the greenhouse on the roof. “Bringing food into a food desert,” said McCann.
The building boasts the world’s largest commercial rooftop greenhouse, run by Gotham Greens. “It’s about using every possible space of a building. A lot of buildings should look into rooftop greenhouses,” he said. The 7,000 metre (75,000 sq. ft) facility provides much of Chicago with freshly bagged mixed salad throughout the year.
Cradle to Cradle
The site has been the location for grand industrial ideas before. Pullman was a planned model industrial town, built in the 1880s, for workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company, which left the area in 1955.
The factory follows architect William McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle concept right through to its conclusion. Every aspect is constantly tweaked to improve efficiency, reduce waste and, not only lessen or neutralise environmental impact but to actually give back to the surroundings. When the time comes for the building to be demolished, everything is already in place for repurposing. The concrete, the steel, the pipes – everything that the building is made from can be reused to utilise its current attributes to take on a new life.
70% of the workforce comes from the surrounding ZIP codes, giving people from a deprived part of Chicago an opportunity for training, employment and the opportunity to be part of a truly progressive force in US industry.
One of the things that really comes across during the visit is that passion within the people who work there. Shannon’s pride in the factory is palpable as he sums up Method’s purpose “we want to make products that people can be proud to have in their home and we’re going to keep getting better.”
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