Being located along California’s coastline has its advantages. But this isn’t just a beautiful place to live; our coast and its surrounding habitats are a reminder that sustainability and environmental stewardship are vital in preserving the natural world. Throughout the year, the California coast is home to countless species, ranging from diverse bird populations to migrating pods of whales to lush varieties of flora and fauna to more–much more.

It might be our home, but it’s not ours alone. That’s why in 2021, we’re taking these extra steps to protect not just the environment itself, but the creatures who inhabit it.

Packaging Update.

One of the big changes we’re working on this year is our product packaging. While a lot of importance is placed on the ‘unboxing experience,’ it often has long term consequences for a short term gain. We want our focus to remain on our products; not the packaging. Even though our Select and Reference series products have been shipping in flight cases since their inception, that’s about to change. These flight cases have mixed metals, fiber, and foam that cannot be separated or recycled. They go directly to the landfill. To change this, we’ve developed an innovative way of efficiently creating endcaps that use the punched out material as its own ribs. Our custom endcap design also provides improved drop suspension to protect and reduce shock to the electronics during shipping. This also saves up to 20% shipping weight, helping reduce our carbon footprint.

This new design uses 9 times less foam by volume, and 15 times less material by weight, resulting in less than 1lb of non-recyclable content per carton.

Less Plastic.

We’re constantly on the lookout for ways to reduce plastic use in our processes. We have recently employed the use of our laser etcher to cut cardboard into clever packaging and organizational containers. Not only have these improved our environmental practices, but they’ve provided even better solutions for packaging our products.

Reducing our carbon footprint.

Manufacturing accounts for 24% of carbon emissions in the United States. Simply put, these processes can produce more emissions in a week than an individual does in a year. This is why we invest in new green technologies–even when they come at a higher cost. The initial cost cannot be the only metric we measure. Plus, sometimes these technologies can pay you back with power savings, improved safety, and quality of life. Here are two recent machine purchases that exemplify this mindset:

Our new vapor phase reflow oven uses 95% less power than our previous convection reflow oven.

Our new variable speed drive(VSD) air compressor uses 48% less power than our previous fixed speed compressor.

Getting Outside

Whether it be sailing, cycling, or hiking, we’re always looking for an excuse to get out of the office and spend more time outdoors. Recently, we switched from working five days a week to working four days, with ten hour days instead of eight. This new work week helps create more opportunities for our team members to travel, explore, and see family. A healthy work/life balance is essential to who we are, and exposure to the natural world reduces stress, promotes creativity, and inspires healthy living.