27.3 F
Clarksville
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeBusinessBudweiser of Clarksville becomes Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certified

Budweiser of Clarksville becomes Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certified

Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certification ProgramMontgomery County, TN – The latest business to celebrate their Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certification is Budweiser of Clarksville, owned by the Hand family of Clarksville.

Charles Hand, Chairman of the Board of Hand Family Companies, has a history of taking care of the environment. For decades, Hand has been doing his part to keep our community clean. His actions carried over to his family businesses when the Company began participating in the Adopt-A-Highway Program in the early 1990s, and the efforts have been growing ever since.

Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certification ribbon cutting for Budweiser of Clarksville.
Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certification ribbon cutting for Budweiser of Clarksville.

City of Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan and Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers were at the Company’s green ribbon cutting to recognize what the Company has done to make a difference.

Mayor Bowers began the conversation by asking what the Company had done differently to earn certification.

VP of Operations Barry Batson answered, “One of the major things we did is that we improved our recycling efforts by utilizing Bi-County Solid Waste Management to pick up our cardboard. We’re doing a better job of sorting it now, and we’ve reduced cardboard waste that’s going to the landfill. We also reduced the number of dumpsters by 20 percent and we were able to reduce the frequency of our trash pick-ups.”

Batson continued, “We’ve also partnered with a company in Michigan that takes our plastic and remakes it into FedEx bags that are used right here in Tennessee. Overall, we’ve cut our trash to the landfill by approximately 50 percent.”

Bowers commented on how efforts like Budweiser’s help the community and asked about any changes they’ve made in energy reduction.

Batson responded, “Within the last year we completed a total renovation throughout our facility through the TVA Energy Right Solutions program so we were able to take advantage of the incentives available. The first year we’ve seen an average savings of $4,000 per month in this facility.”

Hand interjected that they have upgraded the lighting in all of their facilities except in Chicago, he joked, which they will begin working on next year.

“We’re recycling a lot more paper and we have also reduced the amount of paper we’re using. Instead of printing out work orders, we now send them to employees through their smart phones,” said Batson.

Mayor McMillan asked if these changes transfer over to employees where they are making an impact at home. Batson responded, “They are. The Company recycles all of our aluminum cans and the employees are also bringing in cans as well.  We hear stories of how employees are taking the recycling practices home now and using the convenience centers.”

The Hand Family Companies, who own Budweiser of Clarksville in addition to six other facilities throughout Tennessee and Kentucky and with plans to enter business in Illinois, specialize in the sale of beverages, including a variety of beers, Monster Energy drinks, and numerous other non-alcoholic flavored beverages.

The Company began in Clarksville in 1949 when Raymond C. Hand opened a small distributorship in Clarksville which later became affiliated with Anheuser-Busch under the leadership of Raymond’s son, Charles Hand. The Company currently is led by Charles’ son, JR Hand, President and CEO. Charles serves as Chairman of the Board.  Other Company principals are Charles’ daughters, Charlsie Hand Lankford of the property management division and Aim-ee Hand of the financial division.

Visit www.mcgtn.org/green or contact Michelle Newell at manewell@mcgtn.net or by calling 931.245.1867 for more information about the CMC Green Certification Program.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles