Bison’s Statement of Green Manufacturing Practices

Download Bison’s Green Statement

At Bison, our product engineering, manufacturing processes, and our purchasing strategy are developed with environmentally-friendly yet cost effective strategies in mind. Bison is committed to using high content post-consumer, post-industrial recycled components whenever possible throughout the prototype, fabrication, and finishing stages. Over 95% of our sports equipment product line is proudly manufactured in our Midwestern plant, creating jobs to support the American economy.

Our manufacturing facilities are in the heart of a century-old industrial area in Lincoln, Nebraska, less than 150 miles from the geographic center of the country. We source locally whenever possible to reduce the environmental impact and cost of excess transportation. Our employees believe in good, old-fashioned common sense and a Midwestern work ethic that, in combination, ensures that our customers benefit from frugal, value-driven decision making. This approach helps to reduce waste, control costs, and encourage innovative thinking that often leads to product improvements and new products that solve our customers’ common challenges.

While there are many individual components in Bison’s diverse product line, there are several commonly used items for the manufacture of equipment for basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, and more. Below is the information gathered from our primary sources:

  • Cast aluminum backboards: About 97% of the material used is from recycled scrap.
  • Aluminum extrusions: Approximately 75% is scrap aluminum, of which 65% is post industrial press scrap and 10% post-consumer, plus aluminum is 100% recyclable.
  • Steel merchant bar and rebar products: Produced from 100% recycled scrap, at least 80-90% sourced from suppliers located within 200 miles of the mills. Steel is also 100% recyclable.
  • Ductile iron castings: Composed of 95% recycled steel and iron scrap.
  • Powder coating: An environmentally-friendly process with negligible VOCs emitted, no hazardous air pollutants, minimal exhaust, and almost no waste as overspray powder can be reclaimed and reused.

Our employees continue to expand our facility-wide recycling efforts and our packaging process limits the use of non-recyclable materials and uses recycled skids and crating materials whenever possible. Our product catalog has been printed on recycled paper for many years and we continue to expand alternative distribution options. To reduce energy costs and fuel needs, our production areas have implemented energy-efficient strategies to control lighting and equipment use when office and production areas are closed.

While this data is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication (August 2012), we invite you to contact us with any questions about specific products and requests for updates.