The Goal is Less Impact, and More Efficiency

Climate change is a main topic in our everyday lives. Whether it is in our home life or work life, considering the repercussions to our earth with every action we take has never been more pertinent than today. Public awareness of the effects of the manufacturing industry on the environment was pushed into the limelight with the first Earth Day in 1970. Since then, more effective standardizations on manufacturing have been put into effect in every industry, including mould making and injection moulding to minimize its effects on the planet and climate change.

Energy Efficiency is the Key

Throughout recent decades, there has been greater emphasis on adopting eco-friendly practices and implementing sustainable measures to protect the environment. One of the main improvements in the manufacturing sector has been energy efficiency in machines. For the mould making industry this means machine tools for different tasks such as milling, grinding, laser processing etc…

With the growing demand in the automotive sector, machine tools in the mould making industry need to be more and more energy efficient. According to the study Market Report 2016 by the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association, the world production of machine tools represents EUR 67.7 billion. And by 2027, this figure will jump close to 90 billion. That is why it is important to make machines as energy efficient as possible and for companies to have state of the art machines as per ISO standards. At VANGEST, we make sure that we have the best machines and that we maintain our ISO certifications (We are ISO 14001 certified).

As machine technologies advance and we transition further into the 4.0 industry, less energy consumption leads to decreasing manufacturing time and using materials more efficiently. This results in less waste. There is a growing call for companies to set zero waste goals. Less waste leads to less impact on the environment.

“As machine technologies advance and we transition further into the 4.0 industry, less energy consumption leads to decreasing manufacturing time and using materials more efficiently.”

“Renewable energy is not just a trend, but is essential to reducing our impact on the environment.”

Renewable Energy is the Future

To further impact the effectiveness of energy efficiency, we see many companies using solar panels as a source of renewable energy. At VANGEST, we installed our solar panels a few years ago, and we added more solar panels with the completion of our new Digital Factory early this year. In fact, last year we reached our break-even point and are committed to reducing the use of fossil fuels and minimizing the output of CO2. So far VANGEST has been able to produce 2264 MWh, reduce 1358T of CO2 output and reduce the usage of coal by 278T. Renewable energy is not just a trend, but is essential to reducing our impact on the environment.

For the mould making and injection mould industry, energy efficiency in manufacturing has tremendously improved over the decades and is a key factor to reducing our carbon footprint. But to be more energy efficient is not just about the machines. It is also a mind-set: Reorganizing the workflow to use fewer resources; reducing unnecessary steps in processes and increasing productivity; and using sustainable methods to run the business is also more energy efficient. The industry has shown responsibility in adopting energy efficient measures with better machines, better time management, more efficient use of materials and less waste. Greater efficiency will result in minimizing our impact to the environment.