Contributing to a greener Shenyang…
Seizing the opportunity of the expansion of its steel cord plant in Shenyang in 2010, Bekaert took up the challenge to build its greenest steel cord plant ever. With this initiative Bekaert is raising the bar for its manufacturing footprint by creating a new standard while actively supporting the targets set by the Chinese government and the Liaoning Province in terms of energy conservation and environmental protection. By choosing Shenyang as location, Bekaert actively contributes to the development of Shenyang as a national ecological environment model city.
… by leveraging green technologies
In order to build the greenest steel cord plant, Bekaert pulled together the newest technologies for optimized energy conservation, reduced environmental impact and enhanced workspace comfort. Major improvements were realized for each of these 3 categories. Important to note is that these are realized in a very specific context as the Shenyang climate is prone to extreme temperatures ranging from -33°C in winter to 39°C in summer, conditions which put a strain on the used equipment.
Achieved improvements
- 18% reduction of CO2 emissions, offsetting the carbon footprint of 1000 Chinese citizens
- Waste volume reduced with a factor 8
- 35% reduction of material handling loads
- Machine noise reduction down by 8 dB(A) on average
- Energy conservation
By combining a series of energy-saving investments, Bekaert could bring down its energy consumption significantly, notably with 18% or the equivalent of the CO2 emissions of 1000 Chinese citizens . Instrumental to this achievement was the introduction of new prototypes of production equipment that have been redesigned for optimized energy-efficiency by Bekaert’s in-house engineering department. Other important savings were realized by recuperating the heat generated from the machines and by installing a state-of-the-art ventilation control system which compares inside and outside conditions to determine the most energy efficient cooling strategy.
Another newly introduced feature at the facility is an intelligent energy management system, which constantly monitors the equipment and other heavy electricity consumers. This way operators can check energy performance on the shop floor in real time and use this knowhow for further improvements. Finally, renewable sources of energy have been included in the energy optimization plan with the installation of a wind turbine, solar PV panels and a solar boiler.
- Friendly to the environment
When designing the building, Bekaert made a point of making careful use of materials. The height of the workshop was lowered and unnecessary walls removed to save bricks, concrete and other building materials. Bekaert Dramix(R) steel fibers are used to reinforce the concrete floors, saving steel and CO2 emissions related to steel manufacturing. The most important waste stream, notably the processing of waste lubricant, will be reduced with a factor 8. And a shuttle bus on compressed natural gas will transport commuting employees to and from the plant.
- Enhanced ergonomics
Several investments were made to increase the workspace comfort, notably in terms of machine noise, with an on average reduction of 8 dB(A). The machine lay-out and transportation of the spools has also been reviewed in order to decrease the number of lifting and turning operations of the spools, resulting in a 35% reduction of material handling load. Better thermal comfort, less accumulated dust and more introduced daylight add to the wellbeing of employees on the shop floor.
Reaping the results of past efforts…
The concern for the environment is not new to Bekaert and structurally reflected in our innovation efforts with a clear focus on the development of eco-friendly products and production processes. The speed of implementation of the project and the immediate measurable output can be attributed to consecutive years of research into more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly ways of manufacturing.
… and committed to do better still
The merit of this project is exactly that it brought achievements such as new equipment prototypes and process improvements into a production environment. Dedicated projects, such as New technologies for energy reduction within R&D, a taskforce focusing on material handling and noise reduction within Engineering and a dedicated EH&S team that looks into waste and environment, will continue to generate further improvements in the near future.