MORROW, GA.—TOTO, a leader in sustainable manufacturing and green business practices, has been recognized by the Brookings Institution as the leader in clean jobs creation in the Water Efficient Products sector for the greater Atlanta area. According to Brookings’ recent report entitled, “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment,” the “green” or “clean” or low-carbon economy is defined as “that sector of the economy that produces goods and services with an environmental benefit.” The coming Clean Economy, Brookings maintains, will define America’s low carbon future and provide employment opportunities for workers at all levels of...

FRANKLIN PARK, ILL.—Sloan has launched a new platform of sensor-activated faucets that emphasizes faucet functionality, interchangeable componentry, and improved serviceability. The new BASYS platform features five modular, advanced function faucets that meet the divergent demands of specifiers, customers, and maintenance professionals and can be used in any commercial application. “We developed the BASYS series following two years of in-the-field research with our customers,” says Kirk Allen, president and CEO of Sloan. “We observed and listened to what the market wanted, and made sure that BASYS included the features and functionality that would address their needs.” The BASYS concept is built on...

DETROIT—Lighting Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of decorative lighting and energy saving LEDs for hotel and resort guestrooms and public spaces, has named Andy Schaidler, NEWH, IESNA as their new hospitality sales manager. Schaidler’s responsibilities will include building and managing the company’s national independent hospitality sales team, sales, marketing, quotations, and development of new opportunities for the company in the hospitality industry. Schaidler and his team will work directly with hotel, resort, casino, and other hospitality specification and purchasing professionals to bring to market the most innovative decorative portable energy saving and labor saving lighting available.  Andy has served on the International...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform which incorporates patented Recovery Time technology, announced that the Waterfront Hotel has become the latest hospitality leader to deploy a networked EcoSmart energy management system. In partnership with Ecology Action, a nonprofit consulting firm, Telkonet helped the Waterfront Hotel, located in Oakland, Calif., take advantage of the LodgingSavers utility ratepayer funded program. Telkonet installed a fully networked EcoSmart Energy Management System (EMS), replacing the hotel’s existing thermostats with the Telkonet EcoInsight intelligent thermostat. Because the thermostats are ZigBee-enabled to create a mesh network, they develop a facility-wide wireless network dedicated...

VISTA, CALIF.—A July 2011 survey by Waterless Co. Inc., manufacturers of no-water urinal systems and related restroom products, asked about 500 facility managers how waterless urinals compare to traditional urinals. The seven-question survey touched upon cleaning and maintenance issues and how fast a no-water system pays for itself due to reduced water and sewer charges.* According to the replies, 40 percent believed a no-water unit costs more than a water-using urinal. Another 40 percent believed the costs “were about the same,” and 20 percent said they were less. Further, 60 percent believed it cost about the same to install either...

ASBURY PARK, N.J.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Philips Electronics the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) in recognition of being the first company to successfully develop an LED replacement for the common 60-watt incandescent light bulb. Submitted in 2009, the Philips LED bulb was the first and only product to successfully complete 18 months of rigorous field, lab and product testing, meeting or exceeding the high standards established by DOE for quality. In 2007 the U.S. DOE established a competition, the L Prize, challenging the lighting industry to develop replacement technologies for two of the most widely used...

MIAMI—Loews Hotels are migrating to the Hotel Service Optimization System (HotSOS) from MTech. For the past 15 years Loews Hotels have automated their processes for responding to guest requests and work order fulfillment via MTech’s Espresso! Quality Management solution. Today, the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, and Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort have upgraded to MTech’s next-generation solution to provide an even higher level of quality service, and in a more timely fashion. All 18 Loews Hotels will be running with HotSOS by first...

ORTING, WASH.—Baxter, a leader in designing and manufacturing quality foodservice and bakery equipment worldwide, recently launched the next generation of its popular mini rotating rack oven. The new OV310 Series ovens include updated and additional features without sacrificing the quality performance or small footprint that have become industry standards. New features include a larger viewing area (350 square inches total) with dual-pane glass, hidden door hinges and longer-lasting silicone door gaskets for a better oven-door seal. Other enhancements include vertical door handles with a positive latching system, surface-mounted digital controls and easier access to power breaker/gas shutoff valve through the...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Ecolab Inc. has been named to Forbes magazine’s “The World’s Most Innovative Companies’ list, which appears in the August 8 issue of Forbes. Ecolab ranks 28th out of 100 companies on the global list. “Our purpose—to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier, everywhere it matters—drives our commitment to innovation,” said Douglas M. Baker, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, Ecolab. “Our customers want new products and programs that provide superior results along with water, energy, waste and labor savings. We remain focused on continuing to lead innovation in our industry and finding new and...

RIPON, WIS.—UniMac, a leading provider of on-premises laundry equipment, announced the introduction of over-dry prevention technology that allows laundry managers to reduce labor, energy and linen replacement costs associated with over-drying. Over-drying occurs when tumble dryers run longer than needed because they cannot detect when linen has reached its optimal dryness level or when staff uses incorrect cycles. This causes linens to deteriorate faster, decreases throughput and uses excessive energy. OPTidry over-dry prevention technology is an innovation that connects sensors located within the lifters to UniMac’s rotary transfer switch to offer high levels of accuracy. The result is a pinpoint dryness...