Missed the show? That’s just one of the many reasons you need to sign up as a Musician’s SuperStore preferred customer, to be notified off these kick-butt events! Next time, don’t miss your chance to meet the Taylor factory staff and guitars makers, straight from El Cajon, California. Or, have the chance to see many rare, one of a kind guitars. Not only that, but you get FREE gifts too when you stop by. Things like a free subscription to Premier Guitar Magazine, free TaylorWare gear and Elixir strings.

Please, no flash pictures while in the factory. Let’s get started…

Video courtesy of No Island Media.

“These businesses are aggressively tackling waste reduction through innovative business practices,” said Board Chair Margo Reid Brown. “Having exceeded our 50 percent waste diversion mandate, California is looking for resourceful approaches to divert the remaining materials going to landfills. Businesses like these, who create opportunities for waste diversion, will be at the forefront of a more sustainable California.”

Notable achievements by Taylor Guitars in 2007 include:

• 35 tons of cardboard – 95% of the company’s total volume were recycled. The other 7 tons were reused in various ways throughout the factory. 

• Over 20,000 pounds of paper were recycled in 2007. Other recycled and reused materials included plastic wrap, used printer toners, electronic equipment and grass trimmings.

• All oil and coolant products used in the factory and in manufacturing were recycled.

• Scrap wood and sawdust was converted into particleboard and mulch leading to its 100% reuse.

• Select pieces of scrap wood were donated to a local woodworking association to be transformed into toys for orphans in Tijuana, Mexico.   

Annually, Taylor Guitars reviews its processes to look for ways to eliminate, reduce and reuse waste. One of the most notable and technologically advanced innovations was made in the early 1990s, when Bob Taylor, president and co-founder of Taylor Guitars, sought to eliminate harmful toxins from the process of spraying finish on guitars.  After two years of research and development, a proprietary UV-curable finish was created. Shortly thereafter, a robotic arm was installed to hold the guitar as it passes through four coats of the UV-curable spray, eliminating all human contact in the spraying process. The guitar, which is negatively charged, creates an increased rate of transfer of spray to body, translating to less finish waste and a reduction in the levels of volatile organic compounds.  For this innovation, Taylor Guitars was recognized by the County of San Diego for its commitment to the environment.

Outside of the factory, and in line with the company’s passion to produce the most aesthetically and musically pleasing guitars in the world, the company is equally committed to procuring wood that is responsibly harvested. In 2007, the company joined the Greenpeace MusicWood Coalition which is committed to FSC certification of Sitka spruce, an Alaskan forested wood that is becoming scarce due to heavy use in the construction industry.