Kalmar Industries, the global provider of heavy-duty materials handling equipment and services to ports, terminals and industrial customers, has instigated a plan to bring all of its production facilities in line with the ISO-14001 environmental management system standard.
Recently awarded to it Tampere production site in Finland (where terminal tractors, ContMaster reach stackers, RTGs, straddle carriers and log stackers are produced) the plan is to bring its other factories in Finland, Sweden and the US into line with the standard. Companies possessing the certificate are acknowledged to be environmentally sound in their manufacturing processes. The ISO-14001 standard also affects Kalmar's suppliers and subcontractors.
The ISO-14001 application process, to certify the Tampere factory,took two years to complete.An important part of Kalmar's application was the introduction of life cycle assessment (LCA) on its new products.LCA means that the environmental impact of every machine is now taken into account at every stage of production - from design through to manufacture and delivery.The impact of LCA in the design process is such that all new machines are designed to consume less fuel and lubricants, make less noise and which emit less pollution. It is also working on an environmentally friendly process for scrapping obsolete machinery.
As part of the two year process, Kalmar's Tampere factory also looked at its general manufacturing process, analysed the environmental impact of its facilities and made a number of refinements to its existing systems.Such changes included:
Training its personnel to ensure that they complete installation work, along with repair and maintenance jobs, in an environmentally friendly manner.
Setting environmental targets and goals and discussing environmental issues relating to Kalmar's activities in its internal newsletter.
Improving the waste sorting system to ensure a higher percentage is recycled / used as raw material for energy creation.
Christer Granskog,Kalmar Industries President and CEO explains:
"Meeting customer needs and expectations is a number one priority for Kalmar Industries, as is the ability to meet our own quality, environmental and safety objectives in all our activities.Our customers, especially those in the ports and wood processing industry, demand that their suppliers pursue environmentally friendly policies.It was this, and our own environmental considerations, which prompted us to apply for the ISO-14001 standard.Our aim now is to bring all of our production sites in line with the one in Tampere.
"Environmental considerations are high on the agenda in western Europe and specifically in Sweden where those working in the forest industry are increasingly under pressure from non-governmental organisations to review their processes in line with environmentally friendly ideals."
For further information
Please contact Kalmar Industries Communications Manager
Alternatively more information can be asked from David Cheslin or Karen Baxter at Kalmar's PR agency Dunelm Public Relations on tel: + 44 20 7480 0600 or