Lynchburg Business

Bison Printing’s Solar Savings

Issue: February 2012 by Heather Bonawitz in Going Green, Inside The Magazine

The definition of a resource is “a source of supply, support or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed.” For one business in Bedford, Virginia, it is in their resources that they have found the support to maintain more than 30 years worth of service.

Bison Printing is a family owned and operated printing company located in Bedford. This full-service company can print anything from general commercial paper copies, folders and catalogs, to full-finishing capabilities, embossing, bindery and digital press jobs. Every job is printed in-house with approximately 40 full-time employees.

Alfons Beisser, who owns Bison Printing along with his dad, Franz Beisser III—an immigrant from Germany—started the business in the basement of their house in the late 70s. He saw the American dream and wanted his own business. So in 1977, he moved to Bedford, started the company and used his artistic ability to make a name for himself as a local printer. Since then, his three sons, Franz IV, Alfons and Chris, have become involved in the business and are carrying on the legacy. Alfons, known as “Al”, is a graduate of Virginia Tech and was the first of the sons to go full-time in 1990. The other two joined on a few years later. In 2001, they relocated to their newly built facility.

Al explained that Bison Printing has always recycled paper and plates, silver and plastic chemicals that are used for printing, even before it was popular to “go green.”

“We believe that God has given us resources to use and not abuse,” Al shared. “We’ve always had a heart to not throw everything in the trash, probably because my dad was from Germany and it was ingrained in him to not throw anything in the trash.”

In September of 2011, Bison Printing took this passion for stewardship and invested in solar panels to power their printing. The family always had an interest in solar energy and how to harness that in order to generate electricity, so they looked into the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy [VaDMME] and were put on the waiting list for solar funding and rebates. By mid-summer, Bison Printing received a call that they were approved and if they wanted to proceed with a solar installation, to contact the department. They found out how the program worked, called installers for system pricing and by September, took the plunge to move forward. They then received the meter agreement and connection approval. The panels were laid flat on top of the roof. On December 10th, 2011, everything was turned on.

Since Bison desires to manage their resources and financial investments well, they said it made sense with the incentives and available money they had to do this because the system will pay for itself within seven to nine years with the rebate they received. At that point, the $500 per month savings on their electric bill from the panels will turn into interest. Essentially at that point, it will become free energy, which will in turn become extra money.

Al said that “it was a business decision that made financial sense.”

Since it requires so much energy to run their machines on a daily basis, Bison is not generating as much energy as they use, partly due to the weather and direction of the sun during varying seasons. However, their desire to be good stewards was not self-motivating. They realized that there will be times when they generate more than they use, such as when the plant is closed, so not only will this installation benefit Bison Printing, but they had American Electric Power change the meters so that power will feed back into the grid when it is available. In other words, if the panels generate more power than the printing plant is using to operate, it will turn in the opposite direction and feed right into AEP, which just shows how conscious Bison is to not waste a thing.

“There is absolutely no difference inside the shop,” Al noted. “It is generating nice, pure, renewable electricity made from the sun rather than burning coal.”

Clients seem to appreciate that Bison prints on paper made from sustainable materials and with vegetable inks. Now with this new addition, one benefit clients can receive, if they choose, is to add a logo to their prints that states: “Printed with Solar Energy.” When using Bison Printing, a customer knows their prints were made using renewable energy to produce those products.

There are only two other commercial printing companies on the East Coast that Bison is aware of who have their own private solar energy system. Other companies buy renewable energy credits on the open market which counts towards saying “we use renewable energy,” but they do not actually have their own system.

What is most impressive about their desire for stewardship is the commitment they have to all of their resources.

“Our number one resource is our people,” Al said. “Everyone has inherent value and dignity. We want to take care of that resource more than anything. Our customers are a resource and we care about being a good steward of people … we don’t waste and abuse them.”

For this business family, their devotion to their most valued resource—people—is what truly sets them apart.

To learn more about Bison Printing, visit www.bisonprinting.com.