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J.W. WINCO, INC. LAUNCHES GREEN ROOF PROJECT

J.W. Winco, Inc., a leading supplier of standard industrial machine components, will begin installation of a green roof system on its South Calhoun Road, New Berlin, Wis. facility in July.  Benefits include recycling of rainwater and savings on cooling costs.  The company’s remodeling project has been approved under the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Regional Green Roof Initiative.  The green roof project will take approximately three weeks to be completed.       

“Our existing conventional roof system was installed in 1993 and needed to be replaced, so we researched the possibility of installing a fully vegetated green roof system,” said Mark M. Winkler, CFO – Office of the President of J.W. Winco, Inc.  “The addition of the green roof is part of the company’s effort to be a leader in environmental stewardship by reducing our carbon footprint and managing rain water efficiently, while at the same time cutting energy costs,” he added.

        The MMSD Regional Green Roof Initiative provides incentive funding to increase green roof coverage within its service area.  Green roofs hold rainwater where it falls, thereby diminishing the risk of sewer overflows and improving the overall water quality in the region.  Conventional roofs, on a summer day, can be as much as 90° hotter than green roofs.  The vegetation on green roofs reduces heat retention, thereby lowering energy usage.  Additional benefits include improving air quality, increasing urban green space and wildlife habitat, extending roof life by protecting the roof from harmful ultraviolet rays and temperature extremes, and providing educational opportunities.  

Incorporating technologically advanced products, the J.W. Winco green roof system is on the cutting edge of storm management and retention.  The roof, designed by the Milwaukee-based company Hanging Gardens (www.hanging-gardens.com), both slows down storm water during events of heavy rainfall and stores significant amounts for reuse.  Storm water is stored in a retention zone beneath the roof, and then used for self-irrigation of the roof via a capillary system.  Thus the roof is maintained by rainwater rather than municipal tap water.

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      The J.W. Winco vegetated roof project will be viewed annually by an estimated 3,000 people, as well as 300,000 online viewers via a webcam broadcast on the company website,www.jwwinco.com.  It will also be visible on a closed circuit camera system broadcasting live on a large monitor in the building’s main lobby.

The green roof system project is the latest effort to make the company’s buildings and property more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.  In 2011, J.W. Winco retrofitted its entire warehouse with LED lighting.  Skylights were installed and windows added to reduce the electricity needed for lighting, with of the additional benefit of enhancing the working environment with more natural light.  In areas of the warehouse used less frequently, motion-sensor lighting was installed to conserve energy.

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In recent years, the company expanded its recycling effort. Along with recycling plastic bottles and aluminum cans, metal shavings produced in J.W. Winco’s manufacturing process are recycled.  Whenever possible, cardboard boxes received in shipping are repurposed.  The company has switched to environmentally friendly water-based coolants to cool its machinery.  In 2007, J.W. Winco’s building expansion incorporated windows and wood from an older building, along with recycled floors and carpets.

      J.W. Winco offers an extensive selection of inch and metric size adjustable levers, cabinet U-handles, plastic and steel hinges and locking mechanisms, revolving and retractable handles, hand wheels, hand cranks, tube connection and conveyor components, inch and metric construction tubing, shock absorption mounts, leveling mounts, hand knobs, spring, ball and indexing plungers, jig, fixture and fastening components, retaining magnet assemblies, toggle clamps, metric casters and wheels, universal joints, oil sight glasses, and metric tools for the industrial and commercial equipment industries.  J.W. Winco’s website catalog, with 3D CAD and online buying, is viewable at www.jwwinco.com.

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