Smith System Mfg. Co.

Smith System is a manufacturer of innovative products that make educational environments more healthy, comfortable and inspiring for students and educators. The spirit of innovation is not confined to our products, rather it extends to the thinking, processes and materials we use to design, manufacture and even ship them. The feeling at our Plano, Texas manufacturing facility is, we donÕt just want to make the best school furniture, we want to make it the best way. Clean indoor air is a leading measure of a healthy learning environment. The key to indoor air quality is minimizing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because prolonged exposure to them may increase the risk of childhood asthma. VOCs can be emitted by things commonly found in schools like cleaning agents, furnishings, paint, flooring and building products. Recognizing the importance of clean indoor air, weÕve done our best to minimize the VOCs emitted by Smith System products. Through careful engineering, stringent materials selection and sound manufacturing processes, weÕve succeeded in creating a line of furniture that schools can feel good about from a health standpoint. In fact, our entire line is GREENGUARDª certified to meet indoor air quality standards for children and schools. We are the first school furniture manufacturer to earn this level of certification for our entire portfolio. Additionally, all Smith System products comply with CA 01350 and have met the new CREL standard for formaldehyde emissions level of 9 _g/m3 (7.3 ppb) for three years. WeÕre working to make our manufacturing processes as efficient as possible because efficiency reduces waste. Specifically, weÕre reducing waste that goes to landfills Ð this has been one of our most successful areas. In one summer, our bulk shipping initiative reduced the amount of corrugated cardboard used by 225,000 lbs. WeÕre also reducing energy used to produce our products Ð by working cleaner and smarter weÕve cut our energy consumption. WeÕre reducing the environmental impact on the part of our vendors Ð we work closely with those in the supply chain to make sure theyÕre doing their part to safeguard the environment when making goods from wood product, steel, and plastic. WeÕre reducing waste. Recently, rather than sending 50,000 lbs. of plastic (from chair shells and edge moldings that didnÕt meet our quality standards) to the landfill, we had the material recycled for use by another manufacturer. And weÕre reducing packaging used by our vendors. Meanwhile weÕre increasing the recyclability of products Ð most of our chairs are composed of polypropylene plastics and chromed steel and are 99% recyclable (glides and/or casters make up the remaining 1%). Booktrucks are also 99% recyclable. And weÕre increasing the use of recycled steel and renewable resources in our products.