OSHKOSH, WIS.—Continental Girbau Inc. recently broke ground on its third facility expansion since 2000, according to President Mike Floyd. The two-phase project comes as a result of catapulting sales, product offerings and staff. “Business is so strong that we need more space for our team members and product inventory,” said Floyd. “We are projecting aggressive expansion throughout the next four years.” Phase one of the building expansion, to be completed May 1, 2017, encompasses a 24,000-square-foot warehouse addition. “This extra space will allow Continental to inventory more product and quickly and efficiently turnaround customer product orders,” said Floyd. Phase two, to...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—ViZn Energy Systems Inc. (ViZn), a leading provider of energy storage systems for utility, commercial and industrial (C&I), and microgrid applications, has been selected to provide a 200kW (four hour) flow battery in Central America. The versatile zinc-iron redox battery from ViZn is being combined with an 800kWp solar array that will enable the Rancho Santana resort to take advantage of multiple behind-the-meter services, giving an estimated payback on the system of six and a half years. “Electricity in Nicaragua is amongst the most expensive in Latin America and many C&I customers there are on a grid tariff with...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Green Seal as a supporter of the Green Lodging Trends Report. The Green Lodging Trends Report is the lodging industry’s annual exercise to assess and catalyze green innovation, best practices, and awareness regarding the state of sustainability across hotels worldwide. This year’s report will summarize the results of a second annual survey produced by Green Lodging News and Greenview. Green Seal, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1989, provides science-based standards and certifications that are credible, transparent, and essential in allowing manufacturers, purchasers, and consumers to make...

SAN BRUNO, CALIF.—GREEN CREATIVE, the commercial grade LED lighting manufacturer, recently had its MR16 8.5W HIGH CRI selected as a winner in the Commercial-Quality SSL Lamp Design Category of LEDs Magazine annual Sapphire Awards. The Sapphire Awards Gala Dinner, held on the night of March 1, 2017, celebrated the most innovative companies in the solid-state lighting (SSL) industry by naming the third annual LEDs Magazine Sapphire Award winners. The event, held in conjunction with Strategies in Light, The LED Show, and Lightspace California in Anaheim, Calif., honored the enabling technologies and elegance of design in finished lighting products in the...

SAN FRANCISCO—Most organizations tackle our global food waste problem only after noticing how much food has already been wasted. BlueCart conducted a survey revealing that when restaurants switched from traditional ordering methods to online and mobile ordering via the BlueCart application, they cut their food waste by 52 percent. Since stumbling upon this information, BlueCart has made a commitment to support sustainability practices within the food industry. This commitment launches in the form of The Zero Waste Kitchen initiative, designed to share chefs’ best composting strategies and other sustainable practices, in hopes of enlightening the greater chef community and...

NEEDHAM, MASS.—With commercial buildings spending as much as $80 billion dollars annually on heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) costs, the industry is looking to new technologies to pave the way for a future that’s friendlier to the bottom line. In the mix is enVerid Systems Inc., a leader in energy savings and indoor air quality solutions for commercial, government and educational buildings, which has seen growing demand for its HVAC Load Reduction (HLR) technology with mechanical engineers, building owners, facilities managers and architects. The HLR module safely and intelligently cleans indoor air of contaminants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), formaldehyde,...

CHICAGO—LEED v4 is here—and it’s changing how architects and designers consider and specify products. Specifically, environmental product declarations (EPDs) need a more critical eye than ever before. Gerflor USA, known for its high quality, high performing resilient commercial flooring, is making it easier with product-specific EPDs. While most manufacturers continue to use industry EPDs, Gerflor is one of the first in commercial flooring to release product-specific EPDs for all of its product ranges, including: Mipolam, Taraflex, Taralay and Creation LVT. Product-specific EPDs will allow architects and designers to more quickly and efficiently earn a LEED v4 credit in the Materials...

PEMBROKE PINES, FLA.—Entic, a leader in smart building software and IOT, has been chosen by New York Hilton Midtown to provide operational efficiency and energy savings through enhanced visibility into the hotel’s major energy consuming systems. The project marks the 26th engagement between Entic and Hilton, which in 2015 embarked on an enterprise-wide initiative to bring energy savings and sustainability to the hospitality leader’s portfolio of properties. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with New York Hilton Midtown and to extend our collaboration to this marquee property,” said Carlos Diaz, CEO of Entic. “Using real-time data analysis from...

OSHKOSH, WIS.—Continental recently added a 200-pound capacity dryer to its Pro-Series II dryer line. The new 200-pound capacity dryer is the largest of the Pro-Series II line, which also includes models in 20- to 175-pound capacity sizes. The new dryer is equipped with quality components, easy-to-use programmable controls and a multitude of features that dramatically increase laundry production and energy efficiency. Properly balanced airflow, heat input and basket volume allows maximum production when matched with soft-mount E-Series Washers. Providing 200 pounds of drying capacity, and available in steam and natural gas models, the Pro-Series II Dryer quickly and efficiently dries...

LONDON—Travelife Membership in Greece has seen a 20 percent year on year increase. Over 230 hotels are now working with Travelife to operate their businesses more sustainably. Greece continues to be a core market for Travelife’s tour operators. In response to this growth, Travelife has appointed Sotiris Milonas as Destination Representative for Greece. This increased presence within the Greek market helps to push the certification scheme forward, and enables Travelife to analyze destination level issues. Sören Stöber, Travelife Commercial Director commented, “We are excited to see Travelife continue to grow in Greece and to appoint Sotiris Milonas as our Destination...