Wind to power personal-care bottle blowmolding plant

The project will be funded in part by federal stimulus bill passed last year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which will cover 30% of the project's costs. With this assistance, Zotos expects to see a return on investment in less than five years

According to the American Wind Energy Assn. (AWEA), Zotos' project is the largest wind project of any manufacturing company in the U.S. The wind-power operation will be comprised of two, 1650-kW wind turbines that will generate approximately 7500 mWh of renewable energy every year. As part of its project, Zotos will provide the city with a donation equivalent to 5% of the wind power generated on site.

The wind-power investment is part of Zotos' sustainability initiative, which has the ultimate goal of powering its 670,000-ft² plant with 100% renewable energy by the end of 2011. Zotos, which has 360 full-time employees and 310 flex-time employees at its Geneva plant, manufactures hair-care and styling-aid products under the Zotos, JOICO, ISO, Senscience, and Bain de Terre brand names, among others. Zotos has invested $30 million at its Geneva plant in the past three and a half years, including a new bottle blowmolding production facility. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. Ltd. —[email protected]