The Bradken Inc. plants in Atchison, KS, and St. Joseph, MO, have gained ISO14001:2004 certification, the first plants in the group’s North American organization to achieve that recognition for environmental management system standards.
Australia-based Bradken Ltd. is a holding company that manufactures products supplied to mining, energy, and railroad operations. It operates steel foundries, machine shops, and fabricating operations in Australia, Canada, China, Great Britain, India, and the U.S.
The group’s North American foundries, each with dedicated machine shops, include Bradken-Amite in Amite, LA; Bradken-Atlas, Tacoma, WA; and Bradken-London, London, ON; as well as the Kansas and Missouri tandem.
“We take great pride in this accomplishment,” stated Kevin McDermed, chief operating officer of Bradken’s Engineered Products Division. “As the demand for corporate social responsibility increases, this certification demonstrates our commitment to continuously improving our environmental performance and striving to reduce our environmental impact.”
The Atchison, KS, steel foundry produces castings ranging from 200 to 55,000 lb. as parts and assemblies for railroad, mining, construction, industrial and military markets. The St. Joseph, MO, plant is a specialty machine shop that supports the foundry.
The ISO 14001 standard established by the International Standards Organization establishes criteria for environmental management systems (EMS), and identifies the procedures that a company or organization must follow to set up an effective EMS.
For the Atchison and St. Joseph plants, the certification cycle will continue through December 2017. It includes annual auditor follow-ups to assess improvements to the management system.
Bradken’s certification was ascertained by SAI Global.
“Achieving system registration validates all the time and effort put forth by our team,” said Kenneth Compton, environmental coordinator for the two plants. “A certified environmental management system plays an important role as we make progress toward environmental improvements.”