FAIRLAWN, OH – OMNOVA Solutions’ Performance Chemicals facilities in Mogadore and Akron, OH, were presented with 2010 Awards for Excellence in Environmental, Health, Safety and Security (EHS&S) Performance from the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC). The awards recognize effective, vital and sustainable programs that have resulted in measurable enhancements to company performance, and the commitment to working in close collaboration with government officials, industry peers, and communities to share successes and encourage good relations.

OMNOVA’s Performance Chemicals facility in Mogadore received an EHS&S Performance award for reducing its city water usage by nearly 20 percent, well water usage by almost 40 percent and its wastewater discharge by over 40 percent from 2009 to 2010. These improvements were made as part of a major project under OMNOVA’s Vision 2014 sustainability commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its operations and to enhance its offering of products with environmental features. The project included converting several processes from city water usage to well water, recycling wastewater into processes through a reverse-osmosis filtration system, and installing timers to limit water used for cleaning filters and railcars, as well as other high-volume applications. OMNOVA’s Mogadore plant has received this award three other times since 2006.

An EHS&S Performance award was also presented to OMNOVA’s recently acquired manufacturing facility in Akron for achieving an eight percent improvement in overall energy required to produce one pound of product (BTU/lb). The former ELIOKEM plant implemented a number of measures to realize this reduction, including optimizing steam usage during the polymerization process through enhanced system controls and transitioning to high-efficiency fluorescent lighting from older high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting fixtures. The Akron plant, which manufactures dry resins and latex products for a variety of specialty markets, also utilizes a fully integrated continuous improvement process and capital investments to enhance its overall productivity, energy efficiency and resource usage.