This decision was based partly on the existence of a robust environmental consulting industry in the region and partly on IAMS interpretation of its mission. While industry needs to comply with environmental laws in order to survive, compliance alone does not make them more competitive. In fact, traditional environmental control technology adds to the cost of doing business. By focusing on pollution prevention solutions, IAMS has been able to help industry meet their compliance challenges while reducing their costs. Technical Assistance IAMS engineers have provided on-site pollution prevention technical assistance to over 125 manufacturing companies, primarily in Southwest Ohio.
Industry sectors range from metal fabrication, to food processing, to printing, to chemical.
Most of the companies have been small or medium-sized, with less than 500 employees. The technical assistance includes pollution prevention facility assessments, help implementing and obtaining financing for pollution prevention alternatives, and focused pollution prevention solutions to specific compliance problems. In 1995, IAMS became a leader in providing an integrated manufacturing assessment that identifies improvements in productivity, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. It uses interdisciplinary teams of engineers to identify improvement opportunities and begin implementation of one high-priority project for the company. IAMS also worked with the Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency to develop a loan program to encourage companies to obtain integrated manufacturing assessments.