Shaw Industries and Siemens Building Technologies turn waste products into energy

Benefits of the project include less waste in landfills and cleaner emissions

Shaw Industries and Siemens Building Technologies recently developed a process for converting carpet and wood manufacturing waste into steam energy, which will lower plant emissions, reduce the amount of post-manufacturing carpet waste in landfills, and save Shaw’s Dalton, Ga., carpet manufacturing plant as much as $2.5 million annually.

Siemens will design, build, and service a conversion facility adjacent to Shaw’s Dalton, Ga., plant that is expected to be in operation by the end of 2005. The facility will convert by-products of Shaw’s manufacturing process, like carpet selvage, seam waste, and wood flour, into gas that will fuel a boiler to produce more than 50,000 lbs of steam per hour.