Environmental care in harmony with quality and function
Becker's environmental efforts spring from a sense of social responsibility. Whilst working within complex legal frameworks, the company takes a holistic view encompassing financial, environmental and practical perspectives. The result is competitive and distinctive products that match both environmental and functional requirements.
Paint is harmony - colour integrated with form, fantasy working smoothly in mass production. But paint also has an environmental impact that must be handled with foresight. Environmental work has a long history at Beckers, from the development of the first water-borne paints in the 1950s. Over the years, the range and scope of environmental efforts have radically widened. Beckers' holistic approach includes emissions, the work environment, use of chemicals, wast management, produc lift cycles and global concerns.
Better products, lower environmental impact
Environmental certification to ISO 14001 is a policy objective for larger national companies in Becker Industrial Coatings (BIC). Product ranges with lower environmental impact are strongly marketed. These include Becker GreenLineTM (a range of water-borne and high solids products), Becker powder coatings, Becker Acroma's Aqualight (a water-borne UV-cured product series) and ColArt's Winsor & Newton range of solvent-free oil paints. Using renewable resources is important. Becker Acroma has a research project to develop products based mainly on renewable raw materials, and ColArt makes strenuous efforts to ensure all wood feedstock is sourced from managed renewable forests.
Managing for a better environment - an unending challenge
Becker Industrial Coatings' Swedish operation (BICAB) in Märsta, Sweden, received its ISO 14001 certificate in 1998. Since then BICAB has run a comprehensive programme of environmental improvement: the appointment of a responsible manager, an education programme for all employees, written procedures, documented objectives and targets, internal environmental audits and management review. Capital investment has included some SEK 10M invested in 1999 in solvent control. A new incinerator reduced VOC emissions by 40% between 1999 and 2002.
More recently the management system has been simplified to allow clear focus, and a new salary system has been introduced in the factory to stimulate the development of environmental competence and adherence to procedures. Laboratory work has focused on substituting materials with high environmental impact.
Recognising the interaction between quality, health and safety and environmental management (and the resulting economic benefits), the next step is to implement a "5 S" programme - Sort/Systematise/Shine/Standardise/Self-Discipline - leading to leaner manufacturing with maximum waste reduction. This development is relevant for the major part of BIC's entities around the world.
Within the powder coatings business area, Becker Powder Coatings (BPC) has a broad range of products with a strong environmental profile. The product type having the least environmental impact is probably powder coating, as it does not contain any solvents. Active product development has also enhanced transfer efficiency. A high transfer efficiency means that only small amounts of the powder flow are lost when the coating is applied to a surface, resulting in lower waste. Becker Acroma has a wide range of environmentally adapted products for surface treatment of kitchens, wood floors, construction panels, and other substrates. Sales of the company’s more environmentally friendly products are increasing every year.
New environmental technology yelds export successes
Goal-oriented cooperation between Becker Acroma and large customer groups in the company's traditional markets simplifies the development of environmentally adapted products for the export markets.
A major customer that switched to waterborne clear varnish for its furniture manufacturing was so pleased that the Becker Acroma product developers started discussing an extensive and demanding further development of the technology. Would it be possible for customers in the Far East to use the waterborne varnish in the manufacture of rattan furniture? There were many questions and difficulties to be resolved:
* Would it be at all possible to dry and harden waterborne varnish in a climate with
80-100% relative humidity and temperatures of 30-40 oC?
* Would the customers' coating personnel be able to cope with the increased
demands? To create perfect water-borne varnish requires great care to ensure
that the spray viscosity and amount of coating are just right. The personnel were
used to other more simple and forgiving varnishes based on solvents.
* Would the waterborne products be able to withstand month-long shipments at high
temperatures without a decline in their quality?
* Would the new surface treatment be able to prevent the formation of mould on the
varnished surfaces?
The project started in close cooperation with the customer and machinery manufacturer. The idea was to resolve as many difficulties as possible at the same time, through coordinated efforts from several parties.
During the initial phase, the drying equipment was upgraded to permit efficient removal of water. The monitoring of the moisture ratio of the rattan furniture prior to surface treatment was made more precise, to avoid mould formation.
Several systems were tested to simultaneously optimize both the technical characteristics and resistance to mould growth.
The demanding process leading to the ability to guarantee an optimal final product took several years. The result was a new concept that had not just one but two advantages from an environmental and cost perspective.
With the new model, waterborne varnish eradicates the need of solvents. Moreover, no preliminary treatment - or the environmental impact it involves - is required. The changes improve the cost-efficiency of the customer's production.
As a result of this successful development work, several companies in the Far East are now switching to waterborne paints and varnishes.
ColArt is in many ways a fore-runner in the environmental area. With its Winsor & Newton brand name, the company is marketleader in oil paints that do not contain solvents. Major investments have also been undertaken to reduce the amount of emission at ColArt plants. State-of-the-art waste treatment plants were recently installed at the factories in France and China. As a result, ColArt now has one of the most up-to-date, low environmental impact plants in northern China. The company’s production operations also utilize wood feed-stock. All purchasing of the wood raw material is from suppliers that work with renewable forest products. ColArt also works deliberately with the work environment and is careful to maintain a standard that is at least in line with the best local standard in all countries in which the company conducts operations. |
