By A glance at the Adirondack Chair in the Keter catalog would instantly yield memories of a recognizable moment. Slanted in design and popularized in the early 1900s, this seemingly luxurious chair is affordable and recyclable, based on resin materials curated by the team at Keter.
Keter Group has been an industry leader in sustainable home and garden products. Based out of Israel with more than 20 manufacturing facilities around the world, Keter recently added former Rubbermaid executive Alejandro Pena to their staff.
CEO Alejandro Pena specializes in sustainability while creating greener outcomes throughout the supply chain. Pena recently spoke on the work he is doing as well as the outcomes developed by his team.
Reaching For Greener Outcomes
Alejandro Pena has been a vocal leader at Keter Group since he was brought into the fold in 2017. Leading the team during the pandemic, Pena was able to guide the manufacturing pipeline as it expanded into 20 locations throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Enjoying this expansion, Pena made sure that his company focused on sustainability at every interval. Pena said, “It is very important to understand that tall Keter products can and SHOULD be recycled.”
To help assist in collection efforts, Pena helped to launch a program wherein Keter collects as many discarded products as possible to minimize their footprint in local landfills.
Manufacturing Close to Home
Another way that Alejandro Pena and the Keter team have focused on minimizing their environmental footprint is by focusing on manufacturing products close to home. One of their keys to both fiscal and environmental success is keeping manufacturing facilities near their top-selling areas helps to reduce transportation costs while reducing carbon exposure in the atmosphere.
In addition to reducing negative environmental outcomes, centrally installing manufacturing facilities also goes a long way toward improving dependability.
To outline the impact that this centralized manufacturing offers, Pena summed up the statistics of their work. Pena said, “About 60% of our production is in the country and the region where the product will eventually be purchased.”
At the time of this writing, Keter is enjoying more than 20 worldwide manufacturing facilities where it can enjoy cross-category product development and innovation. Along the way, Keter has continued to invest in product development and innovation to help further its market share and growth.
Along the way, Keter is pledging to improve and implement operational guidelines to help target total recyclability. The company is currently on target for its goal of reaching 55% recycled content by 2025, having already hit the 41% plateau. During this process, Keter will also target its goal of getting zero total waste in landfills.
To do this, Zvika Zak of the Keter Innovation Center has had to work on sustainable manufacturing techniques. Zak said, “New technology will also be employed to create a new portfolio of product finishes that will widen consumer appeal for Keter products.”
