Going green

Sustainable manufacturing is gaining prominence in Asia and a growing number of manufacturers are embracing this concept.

There are two aspects of sustainable manufacturing. It refers to the production of goods using technology and process that helps to minimise damages to the environment and reduce carbon footprint. It can also refer to the manufacturing of green products, for example, green composites.

 Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a strategic market intelligence and advisory group, says that air, land and water pollution as well as the depletion of non-renewable resources have been moving up the agenda for governments, businesses and the public. The head of GIA’s Manufacturing and Industrial Practice, Peter Davey, says: “We find that more and more manufacturers in Asia are embracing the concept. We see the growing adoption of renewable energy sources or use of gas-capture and starch extraction procedures.”

“While financial costs and lack of education have played a part, the main dilemma faced by the largest players has been whether to wait for better environmental data before acting, or to act now using less trusted data, with the risk that their efforts will ultimately be found to be inappropriate or unnecessary. More companies are beginning to act now.”

“As a reference, 50 percent of the 20 Asian manufacturers polled in a recent GIAindustry survey said that “conservation of finite resources in terms of power and water” and “reducing carbon footprint” are top priorities for 2011-2012. So hopefully we will start to see even more interest in sustainable manufacturing.”In a sign of confidence for the Asian economy, research from GIAshows that one out of every four manufacturing and industrial companies is investing in emerging markets in order to gain a foothold in future large markets. Manufacturers say they expect about 40 percent of their global revenues to come from emerging markets by 2017. Most of the emerging markets are in Asia: China, India, and Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. This does not come as a surprise given the economic woes facing the US and Europe at the moment.

Energy-saving innovations

Arburg is a global manufacturer of injection moulding machines for plastics processing with presence in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others. In keeping with the company’s maxim “Arburg for efficient injection moulding”, the company operates with the objective to increase efficiency among its customers with its products and consulting services.

“When developing and enhancing products for the machine sector, energy and production efficiency always play an important role for us. The latest Edrive series also makes the use of electric injection moulding machines cost-effective, even for standard products. In the high-end electric Alldrive series, the new Allrounder 630 Amachine size enables even more precise adaptation to the application, which offers benefits for cost-effective moulded part production,” Herbert Kraibühler, Managing Director of Technology & Engineering atArburg, says.
 
The fact that energy efficiency is not only achievable with electric machines is clearly illustrated by its innovations in the hydraulic machine segment. “For our large Allrounder S machines with clamping forces from 2,500 to 5,000 kN, we now offer a servo-hydraulic drive concept, with which the energy requirement can be reduced by up to 50 percent,” says Mr. Kraibühler.

In order to increase the efficiency of Arburg’s hydraulic Golden Edition series machines, a productivity package is included in the product range. This package includes the Arburg energy-saving system (AES) with variable-speed pump drive and water-cooled drive motor. The advantages here are a reduction in energy requirement by up to 20 percent, 5 perceNew Balance Laufschuhe und Bekleidung online kaufen