New press brakes and laser metal cutting equipment are part of the recent expansion.
Florida News, News

RGF Expands Operations During Pandemic

October 06, 2020

RGF Environmental Group, Inc. (RGF®) takes great pride in our vertically integrated manufacturing facilities and ability to ship on demand. The pandemic has severely impacted all of us, our suppliers, and our customers, both personally and on a professional level. RGF® carried several weeks of supply to ensure timely deliveries, but many stock levels dropped to zero in a matter of days and we had to react…. FAST.

New press brakes and laser metal cutting equipment are part of the recent expansion.
New press brakes and laser metal cutting equipment are part of the recent expansion.

RGF® is operating as an essential business under the Department of Homeland Security definition for “Critical Manufacturer” defined as “Workers necessary for the manufacturing of materials and products needed for the medical supply chains, critical government operations, food chains ..etc.”. Under these conditions, RGF® had to prioritize hospitals, healthcare facilities and first responders, while diligently handling the growing demand from our loyal HVAC customers.

RGF® has taken extraordinary measures to address the major interruptions in our supply chain and to support the over 500% increase in the demand of our residential, commercial, and medical FDA 510(K) cleared products.

Here is just a sample of the many actions taken and still underway:

  • Several new hardware suppliers and fabrication houses were qualified and brought on board quickly to increase capacity while we addressed the capacity of our internal operations.
  • RGF® purchased a 24,000 square feet building on 1.5 acres in January 2020 for anticipated normal steady growth. As a result of this massive increase in demand, the fit-up of the building was successfully accelerated from a three-month plan to less than one month. This increased the RGF® Envisionland complex to 9 Acres with 130,000 ft2 of manufacturing, warehousing, and office space.
    RGF’s innovative team developed new programable drilling fixtures and are implementing robotic automation methods to improve productivity and quality.
  • RGF® invested over $2,000,000 in new equipment including two new press brakes and two new state-of-the-art high-performance fiber-optic Laser metal cutting machines. These were all installed in the new building and were up and running in record time.
  • Our creative metal workers and welders quickly constructed new production workstations for REME HALO® and HALO-LED™ air purification products, while also designing, building, and installing custom material handling equipment for the new fabrication lines.
  • Metal fabrication and product assembly lines expanded to 24 hours, 7 days a week operation.
  • Implemented new health and safety measures, including thermal imaging scanning.
  • The size of the workforce was tripled, to over 400 including staffing of Operations, Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Quality, Customer Service, Legal and Maintenance.

These efforts, among others, are paying off as we see a reduction in our back-log. But the battle is not over; RGF®’s strategy to further improve business continuity includes acquiring additional buildings and development of remote sites. The RGF® facility planned for the Tampa area will employ approximately 100 technicians and will operate with the same advanced manufacturing technologies as used at the Port of Palm Beach Envisionland complex.

RGF® has continued to stay current with the ever-changing state and federal regulations, industry standards, and guidelines through active participation in technical committees. In addition, RGF® has significantly increased in-house laboratory capabilities for efficacy testing and validation to ASHRAE and other international standards.

Nearly 20 years ago RGF’s proprietary Photohydroionization® technology was validated by the BOC Group, one of the world’s largest industrial food and medical gases companies. Performing that evaluation were three independent PhD professors including Dr. Marsden, nationally renowned Food Safety expert. All three agreed RGF’s PHI technology exceeded expectations. This strategic alliance catapulted RGF® in the world of food sanitation. After years as an independent industry advisor to RGF®, we are excited to hire Dr. Marsden, PhD as the Executive Director of Science and Technology. RGF® reached another significant milestone with Intertek announcing that the HALO-LED™ is the first product to receive certification under its zero Ozone Verification program, demonstrating RGF’s commitment to safety and corporate responsibility.

RGF® appreciates everyone’s support and understanding during these challenging times as we all contribute to “Getting America Back to Work Again.”

About RGF Environmental Group, Inc.

RGF manufactures over 500 environmental products and has a 35+ year history of providing the world with the safest air, water and food without the use of chemicals. RGF is an ISO 9001:2015 certified research and innovation company, holding numerous patents for wastewater treatment systems, air purifying devices, and food sanitation systems. Situated in the heart of the Port of Palm Beach Enterprise Zone, RGF Headquarters span 9 acres, with 130,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse and office facilities. RGF has recently upgraded their facilities, creating an increased vertical approach to manufacturing, further allowing the company to provide the highest quality and best engineered products on the market.