Canada’s Ontario business community recognized Thordon Bearings’ commitment to environmental sustainability last night during the prestigious 2024 Business Excellence Awards hosted by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.
Thordon was presented with the Chamber’s coveted Environmental Impact Award for the company’s dedication to long term sustainability and growth, not only reflected in its product range but also the socially responsible way in which the Burlington headquartered company operates.
On accepting the award, presented by representatives from local utility company Burlington Hydro, Thordon’s VP Business Development, Craig Carter, thanked the Awards Committee for its vote, acknowledging the strong environmental commitment of other nominees in the category, namely Cultivated B, and Cogeco.
“We are honoured that our peers in the Burlington business community have presented Thordon with this prestigious environmental award. And like many others here this evening, it is our long-held belief that environmental sustainability and climate change can only be fully achieved through technical innovation and engineering.”
Mr. Carter went on to acknowledge the pioneering research into polymer bearings carried out in the 1970s by Thordon founder Sandy Thomson, which, he said, presented a new way of reducing the risk of pollution from the widespread use of oil and grease-lubricated bearings.
“It was ahead of its time, but the world is catching up,” he said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but more and more industrial sectors are opting for cleaner, more environmentally appropriate water-lubricated and grease-free bearing solutions.”
Referring to the amount of annual operational oil that discharges from ships’ propeller shaft bearings – a serious environmental issue long flagged by Thordon – Mr. Carter revealed that effective lobbying has led to the introduction of stringent environmental regulations, particularly in U.S.A., Canada and Polar waters, with many Administrations now calling for the widespread adoption of seawater-lubricated bearing technology.
Thordon is also working locally in Ontario with First Nation organizations to develop clean power generating, pollution-free micro hydro-turbines that would reduce the dependency of diesel fuel generators in remote communities.
In addition to the development of environmentally friendly products and solutions, the Burlington Chamber of Commerce judging panel found that Thordon was equally committed to reducing the environmental footprint across its own offices and production plants.
“We strive to recycle wherever possible; we reclaim and reuse metal scrap from machining processes, use energy efficient light bulbs, and even accommodate employees with electric vehicles so they are able to charge them onsite. Our quality procedures are certified to the ISO 9001 standard,” said Carter.
Thordon Bearings now exports most of its products worldwide to over 90 countries, primarily to companies operating in the maritime, offshore, clean power generation, pump and industrial markets.