ISSA/INTERCLEAN exhibitor profile — Kutol Products Company Booth 1887 Kutol: 100 Years Of American Hand Soap At Its Sustainable Best K Kutol Products Company has a winning trifecta for success — product ingenuity, American-made manufacturing and cost-effective environmental practices. “Throughout our 100 years in business, we have successfully adapted to changing markets,” states Joe Rhodenbaugh, presi-dent of Kutol Products Company. “Some might say we have had some very extreme market challenges.” Founded in 1912 as a manufacturer of wallpaper cleaner, the company trans-formed its product into America’s favorite modeling clay, Play-Doh, to revive sales after vinyl wallpaper rendered it obsolete. The company evolved again as it expanded its hand soap manufacturing. As the need for hand cleaners grew, so did Kutol. designation just over 2,700 facilities in the country can claim. Kutol is one of the first manufacturing plants in the JanSan industry to earn LEED certification. Unconventionally Sustainable The large pond adjacent to the headquar-ters is more than just a “water-front view.” Underneath the water is a system of pipes that comprise a geothermal system — a process that uses the Earth’s consis-tent temperatures to create heating and cooling energy. Some statistics show geothermal heat pumps use 25 percent to 50 percent less electricity than conventional heating or cooling systems with about 70 percent being from renewable energy. Made In America Since all Kutol soap products are manufac-tured in the United States, the increased demand for its products required a larger manufacturing space. It was clear the company would need to build a new facility from the bottom up. “In building our new headquar-ters, we placed a tremendous amount of importance on being as environmentally sensitive as possible,” says Rhodenbaugh. “Every step in construction con-sidered its ultimate environmental impact.” Because construction was approached in this manner, the new Kutol headquarters earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Silver level — a The building also uses natural light and high-efficiency lighting with motion-sensor controls. Water is conserved with low-flow faucets, electronic dual-flush fix-tures and a mechanism to capture rainwater for re-use in irrigation. As Kutol demolished the previ-ous government storage site for its new headquarters, huge dump-sters separated wood, plastic and metal for recycling. The biggest recycling effort was the expansive concrete pad. “As we cleared the site, approximately 8,000,000 pounds of old concrete was pulverized and recycled for new concrete,” states Rhodenbaugh. “Overall, we were able to recycle over 95 percent of con-struction waste.” Recycling did not end with construction, as recycling containers are found through-out the facility in both the office area and on the manufacturing floor. From this new headquarters, the com-pany manufactures hundreds of different hand hygiene products from moisturizing liquid soap to hard-working pumice-based options. There is a full range of antibacte-rial soaps and sanitizing foams and gels, as well as environmentally certified foam and liquid products. Kutol’s line of Green Seal-certified foam and liquid hand cleansing products includes Foaming Dye & Fragrance-Free hand soap for allergen-sensitive users. The company also offers bio-based hand sanitizers that are also dye and fragrance-free. CM Circle Product Information no. 161 This content was provided by Kutol Products Company as part of a paid advertisement. For more information, please contact Kutol Products Company directly at 1-800-543-4641 or www.Kutol.com. 30 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • October 2011
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