By Danny Gavin, AEM Communications Coordinator —
From Magni America’s start in a storage closet, to its new 26,000 square foot state-of-the-art sustainable headquarters, the longtime AEM member company has certainly come a long way.
Sustainable building practices minimize a facility’s negative environmental impact, can make a brand more appealing to potential consumers, and will pay dividends in terms of profitability for years to come. Magni America exemplifies the peak of sustainable building practices with its new headquarters, factoring in green features in unexpected ways to reduce waste.
“We’re conscious of what we’re emitting both in terms of our carbon footprint and any waste products from our facility,” said Dan Blum, CFO and VP of Magni America, which manufactures rotating and heavy lift telehandlers.
Sustainability, From the Big Picture Down to the Details
There are several sustainable features that make the new headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey, something special. Even the building blocks of the facility are sustainable – made of poured concrete with embedded foam, held up with unique carbon patented fiber ties instead of steel, keeping the building highly insulated. The floor of the facility itself is composed of the same material that Magni America’s parent company has back in Italy, which is a special silica floor tile made from recycled glass.
In addition to being highly insulated, the facility’s HVAC system has a variable refrigerant flow, where in lieu of ductwork each office has its own thermostat with its own module connected to a unit on the roof, adjusting the refrigerant flow to each module throughout the office to maintain proper temperature.
This HVAC system is especially important due to the high refrigerant load that the facility will experience in summer months.
Alternative Power and Recapturing Waste
The building is powered by a 150-kw solar system on the roof, and the building planners expect an excess of energy to sell back to the local energy company, giving back to the community’s grid. The only feature that uses fossil fuels are the radiant tube heaters in the shop, which throw heat toward the floor that then radiates to the ceiling. This makes the shop much more comfortable and efficient than alternative heating systems that blow heat from the ceiling.
Also, Magni has installed an indoor wash bay that has drains and an oil recapture system that skims off any residual oil and hydraulic fluids that may still be clinging to the machine from the manufacturing process.
“We’re not emitting any petroleum products into the sewer system; everything is super clean and state of the art,” said Blum, re-emphasizing the facility’s commitment to sustainable practices.
When the Magni machines arrive at the headquarters, they are power washed, and the water flows into a recycling system that skims off any petroleum products before the water goes back into the sewer. An oil company comes in a few times a year and removes the waste oil out of the recapturing device, avoiding putting any contaminated water back into the sewer system.
In the rear of the building, there is about an acre of land where the Magni machines are parked. Even this back lot includes sustainable features; instead of asphalt, they have installed an interlocking plastic grid system under a gravel pad which allows water to permeate the land instead of creating runoff.
When new employees come to the New Jersey facility for training, or when visitors stop in, they will receive a reusable Magni water bottle to avoid generating plastic waste. The Italian company has a taste for espresso, and even their choice of espresso machine reflects their sustainable mindset – using recyclable espresso pods instead of plastic alternatives.
“We are trying to avoid plastic waste from water bottles and single-use nonrecyclable coffee products. During our training process we give out reusable water bottles to avoid creating waste in even the smallest ways." -- Magni America's Dan Blum
From Humble Beginnings to Sustained Growth
Magni America initially started as a New York City area dealer. “The very first Magni machines to be sold in America were actually brought over by us. We started building up a small rental fleet, which grew very rapidly due to the quality and the versatility of the Magni machines,” said Blum.
“When the company was started back in 2015, I was running the business from a closet – a literal closet! We did that for about two or three years, and that became untenable, and we moved to a facility in Roselle New Jersey, which is where we’ve been for the past few years,” he continued.
The dealership eventually became a master dealer for Magni machines east of the Mississippi – selling to other dealerships and setting them up as Magni dealers.
In 2018, the dealership sold a portion of their business back to the Magni family for financial reasons, and shortly after combined forces with the factory to create Magni America LLC. Around three years ago, the business set up a multi-building campus in Pasadena to be able to operate more centrally in the U.S.; this brought a lot more efficiency to their operations, especially when it comes to shipping. That Texas campus allows for training, centralization of their parts operations, and a smoother import process.
Sustained Growth and a New Sustainable Era
To keep up with even more sustained growth, the Magni family called on Blum to find land for a new sustainable headquarters in New Jersey, mirroring many features of the company’s Italian headquarters. A plot of land in Kenilworth, New Jersey was purchased, right before the COVID-19 pandemic, and architectural planning and engineering began in 2021. Construction began in late 2022, and the building is now complete.
“We’re going to be in this building for a very long time, so it made it more justifiable to invest in all of these sustainable features, since the cost will average out over the next 20 years or so,” explained Blum.
From the big-picture sustainable features like solar power and oil recapture systems, to reusable water bottles and silica tiles, Magni America’s commitment to sustainability is showcased in this state-of-the-art headquarters – which is poised to both attract potential customers and pay dividends for the company in the not-too-distant future.
Learn More
Want more information on best practices, tools, programs, and resources to help initiate lasting change to protect the environment, align with evolving regulations, and accelerate the ability to remain competitive and sell products globally? Visit AEM's Sustainability Toolkit.
For more AEM member highlights, subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor.
