Flexo Concepts facility powered by solar energy

Last fall, company owners Kevin McLaughlin and Greg Howell hired Hopkinton-based Solect Energy to do a solar feasibility study for the multi-use commercial property housing Flexo Concepts and several tenants at its Plymouth, Massachusetts facility. The study confirmed the economic viability of the project, and Solect began work on the development, design, engineering, construction and interconnection of a solar energy system.

Installation, which included 850 panels on the roof, 40 power inverters and all materials required to connect the energy to the building and electric grid, was completed over a five-month period. The system generates 290kW of power – equivalent to the electricity used by about 30 average-sized homes in the US – and powers all lighting, heating, air conditioning, machinery and equipment for Flexo Concepts and the co-located companies.

The solar project is part of a bigger Flexo Concepts’ environmental initiative. In 2016, the facility was outfitted with LED lighting, a move that resulted in an annual reduction in energy use. The company also recycles about 80 percent of its blade material scrap along with all its cardboard waste and employee food packaging.

Headquartered in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Flexo Concepts manufactures TruPoint doctor blades and wash-up blades and MicroClean dry media anilox cleaning systems.