Volvo's New River Valley (NRV) Plant in Dublin VA was awarded a Gold Medal and Governor's Flag at the 2008 Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards recently. Volvo was one of only two companies in Virginia recognized at this level. The award encourages excellence in environmental management by recognizing companies that go beyond regulatory compliance toward environmental stewardship.
A wastewater recycling system reduced the plant's water consumption by nearly 600,000 gallons per month during the second half of 2007. Recycled water is used for the cooling towers, air supply house, paint booth water, cab parts washer, and electrocoat process water. The wastewater recycling system went into operation in March 2006.
The recycling system uses two forms of membrane filtration technology to remove contaminants and return the water to the desired level of quality. Research by NRV personnel determined that the combination of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration provided the smallest operational costs, best energy efficiency, and greatest water quality, compared with other methods studied.
This is NRV's second Gold Medal from the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award. The plant also won in 2005 for its environmental programs.