Our Environmental Practices

We are committed to practicing the highest level of environmental stewardship, thereby minimizing the impact of our manufacturing operations on the environment. Following are examples of our commitment to the environment.

  • Due to its superior strength and customizable steel placement options, reinforcing concrete structures or elements with welded wire reinforcement typically requires substantially fewer tons of steel as compared to traditional reinforcing methods. Consequently, environmental impact is mitigated through more efficient allocation of resources.
  • Our principal raw material is carbon steel wire rod which is produced from recycled steel scrap thereby avoiding traditional iron ore mining and pelletizing, coke production and blast furnace operations, each of which has the potential for substantial negative environmental consequences. Likewise, since our principal raw material is made from recycled steel scrap, we do not use any conflict materials.
  • We make extensive use of recycling opportunities to dispose of scrap and other byproducts generated by our manufacturing processes. We recycle 100% of our metal waste and over 500,000 gallons of spent hydrochloric acid each year to various beneficial reuse applications.
  • We have cooperated with several utility-company initiatives to reduce our energy consumption and to assist local utilities in efficiently managing their load by agreeing to reduce our energy use during times of high demand.
  • During our fiscal year 2022, we commissioned an environmental consulting firm to assess our generation of “Scope 1” and “Scope 2” greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. The study concluded that 93% of our GHG emissions are a result of purchased electricity while 7% are a result of mobile and stationary combustion during the course of our manufacturing and sales activities. The study confirms our development and implementation of effective strategies to control our own direct GHG emissions and provides a roadmap for our pursuit of further efficiencies in our operations which, if identified and successfully implemented, should have a favorable impact on GHG emissions.

Our Governance Practices

Our corporate decision making is focused on creating value for shareholders. To achieve this objective, we utilize returns-based metrics supported by a contemporary governance structure. Following are examples of our commitment to corporate governance.

  • Our compensation combines a measure of return on invested capital and time-based equity as we believe these two measurements are closely correlated with shareholder value principles and act as a powerful incentive to employees to think and act like owners.
  • We take a long-term view of our business and invest strategically in both growth opportunities and operational improvements to ensure we maintain our market leadership position.
  • Our corporate governance philosophy is based on an independent Board of Directors with diverse backgrounds and experiences who conduct their oversight of management and the company based on widely accepted governance structures and procedures.