Clean production for energy savings and reduced waste-management costs

© warloka79, #134171669, 2017, source: Fotolia.com

Information

Impacts:
General Energy Waste Materials Substances
Sector:
Manufacture and repair of metal products, machinery and equipment
Investment cost:
High cost
Cost savings:
Reduced energy and materials consumption as well as waste-management costs
Payback time:
Thanks to annual savings in resources and waste-management costs
Cost:
High cost
Size of company:
Medium (less than 250)
Advancement in applying resource efficiency measures:
Advanced

Strong results start with a firm commitment 

  • A raft of energy savings and efficiency gains thanks to clean production methods employed under enhanced EMS
  • Reduced waste and boosted energy performance saves € 69 463 a year

Kide S. Coop, which is part of the commercial equipment section of the larger Mondragón Corporation Cooperative (MCC), is located in Berriatua (Bizkaia, the Basque Country) and exports to the EU, Eastern Europe, and Latin America in the cold store market. The products manufactured by Kide include sandwich panels and doors with polyurethane insulation for the construction of commercial and industrial cold stores. Kide's firm commitment to reducing the volume and tackling improper handling of waste materials in its production has translated into a number of strong results. As part of its wider environmental goals, Kide also is also keen to improve energy efficiency.

The main dangerous waste materials generated at Kide include used oil from presses and packaging that once contained dangerous products, such as demolding and paint residues. In its efforts to prevent pollution and handle waste better, a new storage area was built to store dangerous waste. This storage area was outfitted with the appropriate holding equipment and fire-prevention features. At the same time, Kide carried out energy audits to identify points where improvements could be made. Based on these, an efficient energy plan was developed, which has led to savings in different areas.

Kide obtained UNE-EN ISO 14.001 certification for its environmental management system (EMS), which covers measures to reduce the volume of waste produced and optimise energy use, such as:

  • Use of high-pressure injectors to reduce pipe blockages caused by impurities, thereby reducing methylene use in the cleaning process
  • Placement of insulation stripping on panels to avoid polyurethane leaks during the injection process
  • Renegotiated energy contracts and fine-tuning capacity schedules to avoid peak charges
  • Adjustments to boiler combustion parameters to reduce diesel consumption and smoke
  • Upgraded warehouse lighting to low-consumption lamps, reducing power consumption
  • Implemented digital management system to reduce paper consumption

Following Kide’s environmental commitment, the company developed an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) – which communicates verified, transparent and comparable information about the environmental impact of products – for the cold panel it manufactures.

Key benefits

The measures developed by Kide have considerably reduced its waste production and boosted overall energy performance, saving € 69 463 a year. The breakdown of these savings is as follows:

  • Reduced use of methylene in cleaning processes: € 48 081 a year
  • Avoiding polyurethane leaks during the injection process: € 4 508 a year
  • Increase in capacity: € 722 a year
  • Avoiding energy surcharges and fine-tuning capacity: € 8 305 a year
  • Reducing diesel consumption and smoke: € 406 a year
  • Reduced electricity consumption: € 7 922 a year
  • Reduced paper consumption: € 841 a year

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