HANFORD, Conn. — Thresher Industries has set up its first closed loop manufacturing process by taking in old products and recycling them into brand new versions of those same products.

Thresher makes precision recycled aluminum and advanced metal matrix composite parts, and in the past has manufactured planter wheels - circular metal rings attached to wheels to make it easy to move plants around - for Plant Sciences Nursery.

The nursery sent worn out wheels, from previous orders, to Thresher in reusable containers, and Thresher will melt down and process the wheels into new wheels, and ship them back to Plant Sciences in the reusable containers.

"Customers like Plant Sciences share our commitment to raise the standards of environmental protection within the foundry business," said Tom Flessner, CEO and president of Thresher. "We anticipate a 300-400% increase in sales at year-end 2009 compared to last year, primarily due to our unique use of reclaimable materials and green manufacturing methods that appeal to a wide range of industries."