U.S. Sen. Bob Casey toured Crayola's Forks Township factory Monday to highlight the company's use of renewable energy. Crayons, markers, and other products manufactured there are made with solar power from local utilities and Crayola's own solar farm.
“As a policymaker, you benefit tremendously just from seeing a manufacturing process that is as sophisticated and as successful as Crayola,” Casey, D-Pa., said.
“It's always remarkable to me to see even a company that we've all grown up with has to constantly change and adapt – not just with regard to sources of energy, but with regard to the process.”
Guided by Crayola Chief Operating Officer Pete Ruggiero, Casey wove through assembly lines and humming machines that churn out millions of crayons and markers each day.
The factory, like all of Crayola’s Lehigh Valley sites, runs entirely on solar power, both from the company's own panels and a 25-year purchase agreement with local utilities UGI and PPL.
Casey said he hopes the Inflation Reduction Act, which congress approved last year, will let more businesses pursue similar renewable energy goals.
“The inflation Reduction Act has a series of tax credits that will incentivize this kind of investment,” he said. “The example that Crayola has set here, I think, bodes well for the implementation of the tax credit provisions.”
