Hayco Molding Plant Garners LEED Platinum Certificate with Assist from Wittmann Battenfeld

The newest production site for Hong Kong based durable goods manufacturer Hayco has been awarded the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certificate by the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). The Donald Espie Hay Building was opened in 2017 by Hayco in the Dominican Republic’s Las Americas Free Zone Park. Before opening this newest facility intended to better serve the U.S. and Europe, Hayco’s manufacturing was handled from three sites in China. The company branched out to the Caribbean in 2015.

As construction on the award-winning building began in August 2016, Hayco determined that the new project would be planned according to the LEED standards. Named for Hayco’s founder—Donald Hay—the facility now employs 2000 people.

The site generates 1.5-MW of solar electricity from its roof, and its power consumption was reduced by 40% by using 82 servo-hydraulic injection molding machines from Wittmann Battenfeld. The clamp force for those machines ranges from 60 to 700 tons, according to a company spokesperson. Also pushing the building to the LEED standard was local procurement of building materials, low-flow water, adjustable LED lighting, and use of native plants for green areas that do not require water.

The Donald Espie Hay Building is equipped with servo-hydraulic injection molding machines from Wittmann Battenfeld’s SmartPower series, as well as higher-tonnage machines from the MacroPower series. In addition, the site utilizes robots, auxiliary equipment and a central materials handling system from Wittmann.

Wittmann Battenfeld says its molding machines’ efficiency is derived from the fast-response, speed-controlled, air-cooled servo motor, featuring a robust fixed displacement pump, known as the Drive on Demand system. With this technology, the drive unit is only activated as long as required for movements and pressure generation. During cooling times and parts handling, the servo drive is switched off and consumes no energy. In operation, Drive on Demand results in dynamic control of machine movements and minimized cycle times.

According to Hayco, the Donald Espie Hay Building is one of only 5 manufacturing facilities in all of Mexico, South and Central America to have received this award.