Green USA Manufacturing
Chapman MFG is committed to green manufacturing in America. Many manufacturers produce overseas due to lax foreign environmental laws.
We feel that exporting pollution doesn't help the global environment. We support American machinery tool and die makers, fabricators, metal finishers, machine part manufacturers and other local service providers. Your support of Chapman MFG in turn supports all the American workers that we rely on!
We seek to be a leader in sustainable manufacturing because we live and work in the same community.
Chapman produces roughly 1-2 small bags of garbage a week because everything possible (from metal shavings to oil and packing material) is reused and recycled. Every year we pick a project to improve our environment and you can read about the projects we've chosen and the awards we've won below:
2013 NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat
Chapman MFG became a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat in 2013.
2013 Green Circle Award
Article from patch.com. Read the full article here
Recognized as a tried and true "Made in the USA" company, Chapman Manufacturing now has another label to be proud of: being a Green Circle Award recipient...
DEEP specifically recognized Chapman for its implementation of a new recycling program. In this new program, Chapman has implemented a machine oil separator that is used to remove fine metal particles from their used machine oils, DEEP said.
This enables the company to continue to reuse the oil on a daily basis.
Apart from this, all of Chapman's fluorescent light bulbs, batteries and computer/electronics are recycled and unnecessary office equipment and chairs are donated to Goodwill.
"Everyone here Chapman contributes to our being green so we were thrilled to win the Green Circle Award," said Chapman marketing head Joel Camassar. "We have a lot to be proud of; we're a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat because we cultivate native plants and animal habitats. Everything from our cutting oils to cans and bottles to shipping boxes are recycled. We reuse our office shredding as packaging material and have reduced printing substantially. Our next project is to recycle our pesky fax machine and convert our customers and vendors to email."
Chapman has roots in Durham going back to 1936.
2014 Green Circle Award
Read the complete blog post here
Chapman MFG has won a Green Circle award from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the second year in a row!
We were invited to the DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee's office in Hartford to be presented with an award for our creation and restoration of animal habitats on our property.
In 2013 we removed many truckloads of invasive multi-flora rose that engulfed much of our two acres and planted a wildlife friendly garden around the shop. The wildlife garden includes native species such as American Dogwood, Mountain Laurel, Sumac and Aster, and other species that are beneficial to pollinators.
Our property includes a naturally occurring three season stream and is backed by wetlands, as well as several mini ecosystems including dense thickets, foraging spaces, high grassy areas, and many trees. Invasive species had taken over and destroyed the biodiversity and animal habitats. We clear cut the offending flora and rebuilt our ecosystem with attention to necessary plants for animal cover, foraging and pollinator attraction.
Though ripping out impenetrable rose bush thickets with inch long thorns wasn't particularly enjoyable, I'm proud of our small contribution to creating a better habitat for plants, animals and Chapman team members alike. - Joel Camassar
2015 Green Circle Award
Article from the New Haven Register. Read the full article here
Chapman has received the Green Circle Award from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection three times since 2013. The award recognizes those who participate in projects or activities to promote natural resource conservation or environmental awareness, according to DEEP.
Tracy Camassar, owner of Chapman Manufacturing, said the company was looking for low-cost packaging options, so they started recycling materials from the packages they receive and use those same materials inside their outgoing boxes.
“We think purchasing, stocking, and using packing material all to be shipped once and thrown out is wasteful,” Camassar said. “Shredding our scrap paper, junk mail and re-using air pockets and packing peanuts uses those resources a second time before entering the waste stream and greatly reduces the cost of packing.”
2016 Pollinator Garden
This garden mixes native and non native shrubs and perennials that attract birds, butterflies and other pollinators. Witch Hazel, oak leaf hydrangea and fothergilla are the backbone of this garden. Other native species are Joe Pye weed, baptisia, bee balm, echinacea and swamp milkweed.
2016-17 Pollinator Meadow
This meadow was started completely from landscape plugs (tiny seedlings) and was designed to bloom for many seasons. There's always something flowering to attract pollinators like bees, butterflies and other insects. The baptisia blooms in the spring and as summer approaches the catmint, tick seed, milkweed and echinacea bloom. By fall the aster, brown eyed susans and little bluestems are in bloom. We purposely leave the perennials uncut until spring to provide food and shelter for the animals and birds.
2018 Monarch Butterfly Release
We are committed to the environment and our NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat status. This year we took in over 40 (honestly we lost count) monarch caterpillars, fed them and had the great experience of releasing them as butterflies into our pollinator gardens!
2019
This year we planted a roadside garden featuring both native and non-native plants. Since most of our gardens are tucked away on our facility grounds, we get to share this garden view with our neighbors and community.
2020 Donations
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we temporarily switched gears for the year from our Green initiatives to supporting our local communities by donating masks and other items to those in need.
2021 Planting Trees
In 2021 we planted two Eastern Redbud trees. These trees are native to the area and good for pollinators, such as early season butterflies. Although they were planted on a different part of the property, we consider them an expansion of our pollinator garden and meadow!
2022 Kimberly-Clark RightCycle Program
In an effort to recycle as many supplies as possible at Chapman, we partnered with Kimberly-Clark to recycle the gloves we use during our assembly process. See the video above to learn more about the program.
2023 Cardboard Shredder
Meet Shred Sullivan, our newest team member! Like all of us, Chapman has found ourselves with an excess of cardboard boxes from deliveries and packages. Shred gives us the opportunity to reuse the boxes as packing material for your orders!
2024 Bat Houses
After a lot of research, we discovered that the Chapman grounds are a perfect location to erect bat houses. Providing shelter for these cute little nocturnal friends will help keep pests at bay that disrupt farming surrounding us. Watch the video to learn more!