To David Huntley, vice president of Greg's Japanese Auto, being environmentally conscious is a simple proposition. Huntley, who himself is a avid hiker and outdoorsman, feels that, "You try to leave as small a footprint as you can, whether you're hiking or running an auto shop. A company needs to focus on keeping down its waste stream."
Greg's, which now operates five auto repair shops around the Puget Sound area, has expanded its ability to recycle engine and transmission oil but using it to heat their shop in Bellevue, Washington. At the heart of their recycling program is a Shenandoah Horizon oil recycling unit.
The Horizon model has a single firing chamber and greater oil capacity. While the long-term effects are still being determined - since the Horizon was just installed in early January - Huntley projects a 50 percent savings on heating the 10-bay, 10,000 square foot shop in Bellevue. The heating output is about 315K per BTU, 235K per BTU as it is set up in Greg's Bellevue Shop. Additionally, a small natural gas heater is used.
All solvents and antifreeze are recycled at the firm. Huntley and his brother Greg, who the shops are named after, use Shenandoah oil recycling units exclusively. They tried another company's oil recycling unit and ended up "dreading it." It was replaced with a Shenandoah unit in 1990 at a shop in Renton - now moved and named "Sunset Auto Center."
Huntley reports that "Shenandoah has proven very reliable."
David and Greg started their operation up in Anchorage, Alaska back in 1983. They moved down to the Puget Sound area in 1987, starting in the Kent Valley, where today they have their corporate headquarters and a machine shop. There are 47 employees at the Kent facility.
"We try to run a clean shop by being presentable and helping our employees car pool," explain Huntley. "All our guys commute from Kent to Bellevue in one shuttle van."
Huntley says that Greg's next move is to open a shop down in Phoenix, Arizona. As Greg's prepares to take a hike to the south-west, it's a good bet this company will continue to leave a "little footprint" on the surrounding environment.
