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The JTEKT Corp., of Vonore, is the winner of the 2009 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention.

The awards program recognizes exemplary voluntary actions that improve or protect the environment and natural resources with projects or initiatives that are not required by law or regulations.

This marks the 23rd year for the awards program. Thirty-nine professionals from various public and private organizations judged more than 100 nominations to determine the 14 award recipients.

JTEKT manufactures rack-and-pinion steering gears and hose assemblies at its facility in Tellico West Industrial Park in Monroe County.

It received the award for developing an alternative process to reduce waste from its pre-treatment wash operation, which serves as the final powder coating for manufactured parts.

By utilizing an alternative to iron phosphate called the Houghto-Prep ZP, the company reduced waste significantly and also achieved energy conservation.

Total water consumption at the Vonore facility has decreased from 1,440,157 to 98,436 average gallons annually, or a 93 percent reduction -- specific to the pre-treatment wash process. Annual BTU consumption has dropped by more than 70 percent. Waste treatment chemicals have been reduced by 81 percent.

In addition, landfills have seen a reduction since the new chemical contains no heavy metals, producing a minimal amount of sludge. Carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 42 percent from 20,376 to 12,000 tons. The total annual costs decreased from $248,000 to $78,000. All of this was achieved while improving the quality of the process and increasing the part load by 245 percent.