Roper Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric that manufactures cooking appliances, has reduced its annual water consumption by more than 360,000 gallons, lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 13.9 million ft3, and saved approximately U.S. $100,000 in energy costs. Phosphate levels in plant wastewater have also declined by 45 percent.

GE says that the savings are th result of Roper switching to GE’s Permatreat Enhanced Performance Pretreatment Program to prepare metal parts for painting. In the past, Roper used an iron phosphate conversion coating that required a bath of 125 to 140ºF and a post-treatment rinse stage.

GE says that its EPP Program lets Roper perform pretreatment at ambient temperature, eliminate the need for a boiler to heat the bath, and also remove a post-treatment rinse.