PHOENIX -- Dunn-Edwards has opened the world's first LEED-certified paint manufacturing facility. Located in Phoenix, AZ, the 336,000-square-foot facility was custom designed to be the greenest and most efficient in the coatings industry. This ultra-modern building encompasses manufacturing, product development, quality control laboratories, a distribution center, a retail outlet and office space.

"We have incorporated innovative, energy-efficient equipment and protocols, such as unique dust-collection systems that capture and recycle particulates, and novel wastewater recycling techniques. Our systems are classified as ultra-low discharge, meaning that waste generation is greatly minimized," said Karl Altergott, President.

Even small changes can add up to big eco-savings. The company eliminated cardboard boxes for packaging one-gallon containers and now uses heat shrink wrap. Dunn-Edwards is the only paint plant in the United States using heat shrink wrap. This reduced cardboard consumption by one million boxes, or approximately 250 tons of cardboard per year.

Altergott reports that energy calculations on the new plant show a 50-percent reduction over its two existing operations - one was first built in the mid-1950s and the other in the mid-1970s.