NRI (National Reprographics, Inc.) helps Williams Scotsman Promote Green Construction

I’m going to make a couple of comments first, then point you to the NRI press release (if you haven’t seen this press release, already, elsewhere.)

Comment #1 – stems from my nostalgic nature. Many years ago, when I was still in college, I held a part-time (20-25 hours per week) job as a Junior Accountant with a small national CPA firm known as JK Lasser & Co. I had that job my entire college career. One of our clients was “Williams Mobile Offices”. That was well prior to Williams coming together with Scotsman. I will never forget one of the assignments I got stuck with on a very snowy day. I went with the partner in charge of the audit of Williams Mobile to the location, outside of Baltimore, where Williams Mobile constructed its mobile units, and my task, that day, was to physically verify the count of mobile units in the storage field and to estimate the percentage-completion of the mobile units in that storage field. It would have been a delightful day (uh-huh), but for the snowy-wet and very muddy conditions. I recall that I ruined a good pair of shoes that day. Williams Mobile was not such a big company back then. Wow, has it grown since then.

Comment #2 – in the Press Release about ‘green’, it mentions that the mobile units use “motion sensor light switches”. Here’s what I don’t understand. Over the past four years, I traveled extensively in and around Europe. Nearly all of the hotels I stayed at had rooms where one had to insert the room key, in a slot on the wall inside of the room, in order for the electricity in the room to be on. In other words, you could not “leave the lights on” (or electric appliances on) when you left the room, unless you purposely wanted to do that. In addition, many of the hotels I stayed at had motion-sensor light switches in hallways and other common areas. It’s different in the U.S., where motion-sensor light switches are rare, rather than common, and I’ve yet to stay at a U.S. hotel where you had to insert a card in a slot inside the room in order for the room-electricity to work. In the U.S. we talk about green, but are we actually doing it?

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NRI (National Reprographics, Inc.) helps Williams Scotsman Promote Green Construction

PRESS RELEASE (from NRI, Oct 2011)

NRI recently partnered with Williams Scotsman to promote the concept that contractors can work green while they are building green.

NRI is working with Williams Scotsman to provide exterior graphics that promote the green features of mobile units used as office space on construction sites at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. While contractors build the Center for Sustainable Landscapes within high sustainability standards, they also work from mobile units that include many environmentally friendly features.

NRI produces wraps for mobile units based on designs created by Williams Scotsman. The wraps promote features of the units such as motion sensor light switches, programmable thermostats, GreenGuard certified insulation, automatic hand dryers, recycling areas, fluorescent bulbs, white roofing, low-E windows, tubular daylighting devices, dual flush systems and low-flow faucets.

"Vehicle wraps are increasingly becoming a popular way to promote business features," said Ron Perkins, NRI Director of Business Development. "Mobile units like this can be on construction sites for years. This is a great way to emphasize not only the sustainability features of the project itself but the commitment to environmentally friendly efforts during the construction process."

NRI is also committed to reducing waste and consumption in its day-to-day activities and reprographics services to clients. The company's online document management services help reduce waste from printed materials, and the company not only recycles its own paper, plastic and glass but uses recycled paper and toner cartridges whenever possible with clients. NRI uses equipment that is Energy Star compliant and lights in the corporate offices include timers and motion sensor switches to reduce power consumption. For a more complete list of NRI's green initiatives, go to www.nrinet.com/about/green.

"We've combined two business practices that will continue to grow in popularity," Perkins said. "The emphasis on environmentally sustainable construction continues to grow, and more organizations are promoting their efforts with vehicle wraps. We're pleased to support and promote environmentally responsible business activities."