Gage employees at the Rainbow Run in downtown Ferndale, Michigan. The company sponsors the event, which helps foster diversity and acceptance in the community, every year.
Many manufacturers are just now jumping on the chance to reduce waste and adopt “green” tendencies, but Gage Products has been doing so for decades.
Sustainability is a key part of Gage’s identity — employees not only develop products with recycling in mind, but they also highly value supporting the local community in Ferndale, Michigan. Not only is the company sponsoring snowmobile challenges and emphasizing fuel recycling, they’re having a lot of success in doing so.
As an industry-pioneer in many aspects, manufacturers have a lot to learn from the precedents set by this company, so we wanted to provide some insight. Check out our chat with Gage’s business manager, Andy Welch, below.
JS: Let’s start off by talking a little bit about Gage Products. You’re a chemical products and processes supplier — but what makes you stand out from others in your sector and the industry as a whole?
AW: It’s really based on “The Gage Difference.” Our reputation is built on value-driven, high quality products and services. It’s grown through careful planning, forward-thinking research and development, product integrity and solid customer partnerships on a global basis. Developing products with recycling in mind ensures that sustainability is always our number one priority. This is reflected by the numerous environmental, innovation, quality, and supplier performance awards received from our client base and stakeholders in various industry sectors.
JS: There aren’t too many manufacturers out there adopting “green” practices, but sustainability and recycling are a big part of Gage’s core values. In fact, most shy away from talking about “green” and “fuel” in the same sentence. Can you speak to your overall business model and how you’ve found success with this?
AW: Our “brand promise” is: “Customer-focused products and services that are innovative, reliable, and environmentally driven.” It’s a simplistic statement but also very dynamic in its intent. As an industry leader in custom fuel blending services for product development and emission-control testing, our extensive experience in reference fuel development is complemented by our ongoing development work in the field. We're constantly creating new customized fuels for our customers based on their required specifications and testing targets. Demand for cleaner-burning engines requires automakers to constantly test and re-test new powertrain combinations to meet stringent governmental emissions requirements. That demand leads customers here.
JS: You have some very big-name automotive customers. Have they expressed excitement or a preference in working with you because of your environmentally conscious processes, or do they see it as an added bonus to your systems and services?
AW: Our customers share our passion for corporate social responsibility and operate their own sustainability programs as part of their own identity. We have decades of experience in handling distillation and recycling programs for a variety of leading companies. Our programs are innovative, custom tailored to each customer’s particular needs, so it pays to involve Gage early in the process. This helps reduce overall waste costs, increases quality in process application, and reduces environmental impact. These are goals we all share.
JS: Gage recently awarded a local high school graduate a STEM scholarship, and we see news about your involvement with community events all the time on your social media channels. Why do you value community involvement at your company?
AW: Since our beginning in 1936, we have maintained a flexible approach, which has helped us continually grow and adapt to the needs of an ever-changing marketplace. As we continue to grow, we consider it critical to remain an active partner with the community of Ferndale. Collaboration with all stakeholders is essential to building long lasting relationships. Being able to provide opportunities to high school students and also assist in training exercises with the local Fire Department are essential to our responsibilities as good corporate citizens.
JS: I want to talk about the Snowmobile Challenge. The annual event, which brings together engineering students from US and Canada, charges student teams to re-engineer existing snowmobiles. Aside from having a fun event to break out of those Michigan winter blues, why did Gage get involved with this originally, and why is it important to support this initiative?
AW: 2015 marked our 14th consecutive year sponsoring the SAE event where we provide alternative fuels to the participating teams as well as award one team for “Best Fuel Economy.” At the core of our support for this event is the belief that it is important to not only work toward a sustainable future but to help train and support the next generation who will continue our work. The real benefit comes from teaching tomorrow’s engineers that performance, presentation, and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand. As industries become more aware of the profit potential of sustainability, the more we can help save the Earth and reinvigorate the world’s economy. It’s the kind of win-win that is at the core of what we do at Gage.
JS: It’s clear Gage has found a unique way to tie its company values into supporting various initiatives — STEM, sustainability, community support, etc. What wisdom can you share with others in the industry into the benefits of doing this and how to find their own path of doing so?
AW: It comes down to core values. By having sustainability ingrained in our corporate culture, we are fully committed to advancing our environmental programs and policies. For us, conducting business in a socially responsible manner is the only way to conduct business. We are a customer-focused organization that values our community and the environment. Therefore, the Gage brand is unique because of our values, philosophy, and commitment. They’re also symbols of our dedication to the environment. We accomplish this through quality, reliability, innovation, customer focus and environmental stewardship. With these beliefs, we continue to grow through principle-centered partnerships, driven by an empowered team guided by environmental responsibility.
JS: What’s on the horizon for the company in the coming months?
AW: We are very excited to announce our new, Innovations Center which is set to open in in October. This new state-of-the-art laboratory will be our dedicated in-house product development facility and will allow us to improve our quality control and analytical capabilities for our customers. We built this new laboratory to increase our internal capabilities and streamline our current processes to enhance new product development to better service our customers. It will also help grow new opportunities and help us meet the needs of chemical and automotive industries for today and the future.
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