BOSTON, April 3, 2020 – Technomad redefines sustainable audiovisual equipment with a partnership that brings solar technology to its already-green plastic loudspeaker manufacturing process. The new manufacturing method reduces production costs by nearly 30 percent while reducing the company’s carbon footprint.
Technomad has long been associated with sustainable manufacturing, producing durable, weatherproof MilSpec loudspeakers using recycled plastic. As a result, Technomad loudspeakers are often specified in AV projects with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requirements.
In 2016, Technomad teamed up with LightManufacturing LLC, which developed a unique patent-pending method of molding plastic with solar heat. The company’s unique Solar Rotational Molding (SRM™) systems eliminate greenhouse gasses associated with traditional rotational molding while reducing manufacturing costs — an unusual combination in a world that equates ‘green’ with unaffordable.
The partnership began by manufacturing three of Technomad’s loudspeakers using the solar methodology. Now in 2020, all Technomad products are sustainably molded by LightManufacturing at its California facility.
“Technomad is the first company in the professional audio industry to take advantage of solar thermal energy,” said Rodger von Kries, vice president of Technomad. “We’ve always worked on the cutting edge of green manufacturing, being the first company to use 100 percent recycled plastic to make loudspeaker cabinets. The LightManufacturing partnership brings new advantages by reducing our costs while benefiting the environment.”
LightManufacturing’s SRM process uses heliostats – computer-controlled mirrors – to concentrate heat from the sun onto a mold and melt the plastic inside. The sun’s thermal energy is used directly, avoiding the costs of making electricity with photovoltaic panels. The process delivers higher quality parts at a lower cost than traditional rotational molding, with typical savings of 10 to 30 percent. The nearly silent SRM systems use no natural gas or external AC power, and the hardware costs less than traditional rotational molding systems.
“This partnership shows that the solar molding process can deliver high-quality, reduced-cost parts for manufacturers right out of the gate,” said Mark Severy, a consultant at LightManufacturing. “Technomad came to us with a 15-year history of making world-class products. We met their requirements for outstanding quality, lower cost — and zero carbon emissions.”
In addition to molding loudspeaker enclosures and products for other clients at its California facility, LightManufacturing deployed a Solar Molding System to mold water storage tanks on the Big Island of Hawaii.
ABOUT LIGHT MANUFACTURING
LightManufacturing LLC’s unique process re-invents rotational molding and other plastic molding processes through the use of heliostats and solar thermal energy. The company works with equipment builders, plastic molders, large-scale end-users of plastic components, governments and NGOs to create sustainable and economically-competitive manufacturing solutions. For more information: call 415-796-6475; e-mail [email protected]; watch this video; or visit LightManufacturing Inc.
For more information about LightManufacturing’s hawaii-made water tanks, please visit bigisland.lm.solar
Sustainable process improves quality while significantly reducing costs and carbon footprint
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