At Schlemmer, global environmental protection is a point of honour

Yesterday, on 1 August, it was that time again when the sustainable resources of our earth for the year 2018 have already been used up. For the next five months, we will be living on borrowed time, so to speak. The "Earth Overshoot Day" expresses this date. It takes place a little earlier every year and thus clearly draws attention to this disturbing development. According to the research organisation Global Footprint Network which launched this day, mankind currently uses more natural resources than our planet can permanently provide. There are already many people and projects around the world that want to bring about a turnaround, but their effectiveness is often limited. Particularly globally operating and manufacturing companies are therefore called on to assume this special responsibility and actively support it.

Environmental protection, sustainability and the conscientious use of natural resources are guiding principles that the technology company Schlemmer lives by and specifically implements. "Environmental protection starts with the development of our products and the selection of materials for our customers," explains Josef Minster, CEO of the Schlemmer Group.

In terms of resource conservation, the Schlemmer Group is increasingly using regranulates in its production. These are processed high-quality thermoplastics that are sustainably recycled and returned to the economic cycle. The result is an improved life cycle assessment with qualitatively equivalent end products. The overall proportion of processed regranulates in the total production of Schlemmer last year was 17 per cent - a strong upward trend. In 2018, this process will save 15,000 tonnes of CO2, neutralising the output of 7,500 cars travelling approx. 15,000 km/year.

With sustainable technologies such as the MuCell® lightweight construction process, Schlemmer also reduces the material usage and weight of components by up to ten per cent. The established injection moulding process is used to produce custom-fit plastic components based on microcellular foam structures. The high dimensional stability of the components results in an increased life of the products.

The joint venture Luma-Tec of the Schlemmer Group focuses on energy optimisation: The machines and systems required for production are specifically optimised and continuously developed. For example, energy savings of 60 per cent were achieved in the development of thermal ovens from the first to the third generation. 

"We hope to be able to contribute with further ideas to the turnaround in the future," says Josef Minster. "Every one of our product innovations must meet the magic triangle of environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, recycling aspects and energy-saving technologies at all our branch offices and manufacturing facilities."