Factory operations and production

Creating a safe and environmentally-friendly operation

Production at our 130-acre site in the City of Ranson is slated to begin early 2021, and once up and running, we will be producing stone wool insulation for residential, commercial and industrial uses. 

Stepping inside our manufacturing facilities, witness a modern and efficient operation that combines state-of-the-art equipment with people, working together to ensure the highest levels of product quality. The assessment of our operating environment includes an overview of health and safety practices, water usage and treatment, our emergency preparedness, and concludes with a plant tour video. 

Health and safety practices

Besides delivering solutions that protect our customers, ROCKWOOL is also committed to providing a safe, fair, and engaging workplace for our employees. We have developed a culture that puts the safety of our colleagues first, including requiring all personnel to wear standard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Specific areas of the industrial facility require hearing protection, and some tasks may require additional safety gear that we provide. 

Our indoor air quality does not require employees to wear respirators or dust masks in their regular duties. Specific tasks requiring confined space entry are subject to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and appropriate PPE is provided and used as required along with ensuring regular inspections of all company equipment. 

Water usage and treatment 

At our Ranson facility, we are implementing a closed-loop system where rainwater will be collected in two secure on-site ponds and used as the primary source of water in the production process.

In cases when rainwater is not sufficient, we will draw water supplied by Jefferson Utilities, Inc. which will provide water services to the facility. Our total water consumption will not exceed 125,000 gallons per day.

We will be installing a reverse osmosis (RO) system at the factory as standard water treatment equipment. The RO is used to ensure the needed water quality for our production process by limiting deposits and corrosion.

In addition, the Ranson facility will use a water softening plant to remove calcium and magnesium from the water, among other common minerals. This is done to ensure the longevity of the production equipment by limiting deposits (scaling) and corrosion.

As with RO reject water, wastewater from the softening plant has concentrated levels of total dissolved solids and salts. 

Prepared in the event of an emergency

At ROCKWOOL, we take all available precautions to prevent an emergency. As part of our emergency preparedness planning, we have conducted a risk assessment that includes risks associated with fire, explosion, and spills. This detailed risk assessment has concluded that no event on-site will cause any evacuation situation for schools and neighbors.

We have also completed hazard mitigation planning to ensure that once up and running, the facility will be fully compliant with a Spill Prevention and Recovery Plan (SPRP) and a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan.

Members of the local team are also required to meet rigorous internal controls, which include regular drills carried out in partnership with local fire departments. These drills ensure that the emergency preparedness plans we have put in place can be executed should an event occur. 

^Sources

^{1EPA, Workbook for Plume Visual Impact Screening and Analysis (Revised), EPA-454/R-92-023, 1992.}

^{2Reference: County-Wide Groundwater Assessment, Jefferson County, West Virginia, Analytical Sciences Inc for Jefferson County Commission, April 2012}