Industry accounts for around 31 percent of annual energy consumption in Germany. If the energy transition is to succeed, companies must accept their responsibility: Review and monitor consumption and look for optimization opportunities. With rising energy prices, this not only makes ecological sense, but also economic sense. In addition to consumption, there is also a greater focus on the supply of energy: in 2020, 45% of electricity demand was already covered by renewable energies.
The PCB industry may not be the largest sector, but its high demand for fresh water, waste water and energy during production means that it cannot shirk its responsibilities. As KSG GmbH, we have therefore consciously chosen a path towards sustainability. Our Head of Production Engineering, Mr. Thomas Hojenski, answered the PCB blog's questions.
About the person:
Thomas Hojenski has been working for KSG GmbH since January 1, 2020 and lives in Stollberg. The 47-year-old is responsible for media supply (electricity, gas, water), energy management and facility management at KSG. The father of two is also concerned with energy in his free time and makes sure it is used sparingly. His credo: "Nature in the Ore Mountains is too beautiful to do nothing to preserve it."
Mr. Hojenski, everyone is talking about sustainability. Some people believe that the topic is not that important. Why is KSG focusing on it?
As a company, we have a great responsibility. Not only for our figures, but also for our employees and our region. Our company headquarters in Gornsdorf, for example, consumes as much energy as a small town with around 5,000 four-person households. Our production therefore costs us about as much electricity as all the citizens of the town of Aue-Bad Schlema - every day. If we as a society want to become more conscious in our use of resources, we as a company must do our part. Not to mention the enormous costs associated with such energy consumption.
"We use about as much electricity as a small town - day after day."
That sounds like a lot. Is it even possible to save energy in your industry?
Of course. Investments in the latest technologies and machines play a major role here. Our new direct imagesetters, for example, not only create much finer traces, but also save us the costly production of films. The investment not only pays off financially, but is also worthwhile in terms of reducing recyclable materials that can no longer be used.
As the person responsible for energy management, you look first and foremost at electricity. Where else does sustainability play a role for KSG?
In very many areas, in fact. Let's take another area that is my responsibility: Water. As a company, we use about as much water as a medium-sized village of 2,000 inhabitants. We already use service water today, but we want to expand this in order to conserve drinking water resources. We will also examine cooling and heating cycles to see, for example, how we can divert unused waste heat so that it can be put to good use - the keyword here is heat recovery. But being able to map processes "in-house" again also plays a part.
Do you have an example for us?
Let's take the drill grinding. We used to outsource this to a service provider in Slovakia. This meant that the drill bits had to be transported all the way there and back by truck - a total of around 20,000 kilometers of transport each year, which is equivalent to half a trip around the world. Since the changeover, we have saved this environmental impact and also some costs.
Good reasons for more sustainability
- Minimize your own costs
- Positive argument to the customer
- Attractive as an employer brand
- Creating a market advantage over the competition
- Influencing capacities, e.g. through shorter transport routes
- Compliance with legal requirements
- Taking responsibility for future generations
So you are also looking at the supply chains. Do your customers do the same and ask what KSG is doing in terms of sustainability?
In my perception, demand has increased significantly in the last two years. Today, companies have to document how they use resources; this starts with the CO2 figure on the invoice. The topic has become more present in customer audits, but is not yet a main criterion in the decision for or against us.
Does it play a role as an employer brand?
My impression is that the employees are sensitized to this and perceive sustainability as an overall task. Other more obvious factors also play a role here, such as our own bee colony, which produces honey for our colleagues. Incidentally, we are also interested in efficiency when it comes to our animal employees: To save them walking, we will be creating our own bee meadow.
Process optimization with a difference! To improve processes, you first have to know them inside out. I understand that taking stock is one of your first tasks as Chief Energy Manager.
Of course, we already know all our work processes and production processes very well. We are certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 and undergo regular audits. We will now take another look at all our processes and draw up an overall concept for energy requirements in 2022, i.e. where, how much and what type of energy is needed. Can certain machines be switched off at certain times of the day? Can we make secondary use of the waste heat in the building? New projects will be developed on this basis, which should then lead to practical improvements. We are also actively thinking about renewable energies so that we can better cover and counter-finance power peaks ourselves.
"In 2022, we will draw up an overall concept for our energy requirements in order to optimize our consumption in a targeted manner."
The production of circuit boards requires many valuable raw materials such as gold and copper, which are not only expensive but also limited. How does KSG contribute to the careful use of these resources?
These raw materials are actually very valuable, even for the production of printed circuit boards. We recycle all surplus material that does not become part of a circuit board. We remove copper using an ammonia solution and electrolysis, among other methods. The remaining material is knocked off and collected by a recycler. Unfortunately, we can no longer use the recycled copper, but it can still be used in many other areas. It works in a similar way with gold or tin.
And how do you ensure that everything meets your requirements when producing gold or tin?
The EU Supply Chain Act obliges us to source conflict minerals from traceable sources that meet certain standards. We regularly ask our suppliers where exactly the minerals are mined and smelted. In this way, we not only ensure that environmental damage is avoided, but also do our small part to prevent human rights violations.
Would you like to find out more about KSG GmbH, its employees and the company's path to greater sustainability? Follow us on our social media channels on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. By the way: You can find more information about sustainability at KSG on our website ksg-pcb.com.
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One Response
Really well described and answered. Good luck to all of us with this important topic