Bird-In-Hand Woodworks

Training Program Provided for Children's Furniture Company

• Objective
• Background
• How ETAC Helped
• Results/Benefits

Objective
To train the employees at Bird-In-Hand Woodworks to use new ultraviolet (UV) finishing equipment.

Background
Located in Lancaster, Pa., Bird-In-Hand Woodworks manufactures high quality children's furniture for pre-schools, nurseries and kindergartens. A division of School Specialty, Bird-In-Hand Woodworks is dedicated to creating products for young school children while complying with environmental regulations and minimizing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during the process.

Within the past few years, production at Bird-In-Hand has increased by approximately 30% and they anticipate a 40 to 50% growth rate within the next year. To address the growing market demands and environmental concerns, Bird-In-Hand converted from a system of curtain coaters and spray booths using nitrocellulose lacquer to a new finishing process with equipment that uses UV curable finishes. By converting to UV curable finishes, the finishing operation equipment now includes an edge coater, a molding or vacuum coater and UV flatline.

How ETAC Helped
ETAC developed a training program for Bird-In-Hand to assist employees in operating the UV finishing equipment in an environmentally-friendly and effective manner. The program included:

• Information and materials on the chemistry of UV coatings, how the coatings differ from organic solvent coatings and the relationship between UV exposure and photoinitiator chemistry;
• Instructions for adapting to application and lamp variables that affect the quality of UV finish, such as line speed, weather, viscosity, dose and dose rate;
• Methods for troubleshooting during start-up of the operating process;
• Procedures for proper handling and storage;
• Precautions and equipment to ensure safety and increased personal protection, including emergency spill response and information about potential health and physical hazards; and
• Hands-on demonstrations of using the coating and products employed in the production line.

This training allowed the implementation of three new UV-finishing systems in one month. ETAC provided Bird-In-Hand with information that allowed them to trouble-shoot procedures and develop a safety program tailored to the specific UV-finishing process. ETAC also supplied the company with RadTech International's UV health and safety guidelines to ensure a safe environment for employees.

Results/Benefits
In converting to UV technology, Bird-In-Hand will greatly reduce VOCs from over 44 tons to less than 10 tons per year.

The training provided by ETAC enabled manufacturers at Bird-In-Hand to rapidly start operations with safety procedures in place and achieve the following:

• Eliminated solvent-borne organic coatings, thus improving the overall working conditions at the manufacturing facility by reducing odors and minimizing the fire and health hazards associated with solvent usage.
• Reduced regulatory paperwork for materials used in the finishing operation.
• Reduced operating costs from 10 to 11% and achieved an estimated return on the equipment investment in approximately 18 months.
• Sped up turnaround time and ultimate delivery to the customer improving marketability and competitive edge of the company.
• Minimized potential downtime due to increased self-sufficiency for trouble shooting problems on the production line.

For more information on the success of Bird-In-Hand Woodworks in the children's education market and UV technology employed during operation, contact us.

Note: ETAC has received approval from the company above to disclose its name and specific information about its case.