New – Walter Surface Technologies International Campus

PRESS RELEASE – New Skills Campus in MONTREAL, PQ – Metal Finishing | Steel Cutting | MRO | Machining | Welding Construction
Environmental Solutions | Industrial Cleaning

PICTURED: Pierre Somers, Chairman and CEO, Walter Surface, Cuts the chain to open the new facilities.
WALTER SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES INAUGURATES $30 MILLION INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS AND NEW BIO-CIRCLE FACILITY

Montreal, August 22nd, 2013 – After several years of investments in sophisticated design and construction of the most recent extension phase housing its new Bio-Circle facility, the entire 92,000 sq. ft Walter Surface Technologies International campus is now complete on its original Montreal (Pointe-Claire, Qc) site and is poised to grow in all of its business segments.

The campus serves as the overall international headquarters for the WALTER Company, encompassing corporate management, R&D, laboratories, product management, test centers, marketing, sales, warehousing, distribution, and after sales service.  Construction of this campus represents an investment over $30 million.

The new Bio-Circle complex contains a high-tech bottling plant where production capabilities are increased 10 fold while quality control guarantees a flawless end product. Key components of this new facility include automated bottling systems, massive mixing and storage tanks, sophisticated pumping and packaging systems.

Remarks from the Chair
“We really are about performance, safety, and sustainability. We’re dedicated to helping our clients work better by providing the best possible Walter products and by making Green Work with our Bio-Circle Environmental Solutions line of products. The new campus is a major asset for our future growth.  Now, we have the automation, the processes, and the facility to help us execute our core value of delivering products and solutions that help our customers work better. Today, this focus on “making green work” is leading to the development of environmentally helpful initiatives which are increasingly welcome in our industry.” stated Pierre Somers, Chairman and CEO of Walter Surface Technologies International.

Walter Surface Technologies Campus – exterior

Walter Surface Technologies and Bio-Circle Today
Walter continually strives to improve materials and methods, and focuses on helping customers achieve more productivity and competitiveness while helping deliver the lowest possible overall operational cost and maximizing production output. Key leading Walter products include: ZIP CUT (ZIP WHEEL in USA), ZIP ONE, Enduro-Flex, and Surfox.

Since the early 1990s Walter has also been active in the research and development of green technology. Today, environmental initiatives represent a core part of the business embodied within the Bio-Circle Environmental Solutions division, and its moniker “Making Green Work”. This has set the company on a new course to explore new business practices and processes which help manufacturers protect the health of their workers, while reducing global warming and pollution.  VOC-free, VOC-reduced and water-based products protect users from toxic compounds that were traditionally used. These industrial, yet environmentally-friendly solutions represent merely the beginning of Walter’s green initiatives – the Bio-Circle line already includes more than 20 products,  from parts washer machines to cleaning liquids. Key products include: Bio-Circle Ultra, Nature Boost, Bio-Rust and AF Clean.

LEED GOLD Certified
This recent certification of the Walter campus furthers the company’s dedication to environmentally sound practices and illustrates more examples how the Walter Team “walks the talk”.  Some of the new Walter campus features include: optimized storage facilities with carefully managed humidity for sensitive products to ensure quality; energy efficiency with 49 wells running 500 feet deep to capture geo-thermal energy that keeps the entire facility comfortable all-year round; special windows that contribute to overall temperature control; controlled water temperature in all rooms, including washrooms and the cafeteria; sophisticated air filtering systems which clean the air before it is released into the atmosphere; and neutralization of chemical effluents before they enter the municipal sewage system.

Naturally, Walter uses its own Bio-Circle cleaning system for parts and equipment, contributing to the elimination of toxic solvents. Walter’s employees recycle more than just paper and aluminum cans – they follow a comprehensive recycling program covering virtually every aspect of daily operations, from cafeteria services to individual work spaces.

Official Inauguration
More than 300 guests including some of Montreal’s top business leaders and key metalworking industry executives were on hand for the official inauguration of the entire campus with a focus on the new Bio-Circle state-of-the-art production facility.  Tours were conducted by members of the Walter team which provided close-up views of products at work.

About WALTER – 60 years of success, and beyond
Walter Surface Technologies has grown as a leader in surface treatment technologies for more than 60 years providing high productivity abrasives, power tools, tooling, chemical tools and BIO-CIRCLE branded environmental solutions for the metal working industry. Founded in Montreal in 1952, the company is now established in 7 countries throughout North America, South America and Europe. The International headquarters is sited in Montreal and US headquarters is located in Windsor, Connecticut. Key certification and awards include ISO 9001: 2008, Wall Street Journal Award; Deutscher Material Preiz; American Eagle Award; CleanTech Cleaning Technology Award.

For more information http://www.walter.com