Continuing on the path to a sustainable future remains a focal point for Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire. Our effort to refine green production includes achieving Zero Waste to Landfill across our magnet wire plants, metals processing facilities as well as chemical processing locations. It is also one of the key initiatives of the Vision 2030 plan that was set forth by CEO Brian Kim in April.
Over the course of the last several months Zero Waste to Landfill assessments were conducted at all Essex Furukawa locations, and the results were encouraging as three North American locations; all three European locations, as well as operations in China and Japan have been certified as Zero Waste to Landfill.
For a plant to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill status at least 98% of all waste leaving the facility must being diverted from landfill as well as from the downstream material management organization accepting the waste stream.
“Becoming Zero Waste to Landfill across all of our global locations was always viewed as an ambitious but achievable goal,” Austin Robinson, Sustainability Project Manager said. “When we began working with our business leaders and plant managers for this assessment it was an unknown where our baselines would be and what work would be needed to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill.
“We were thrilled when we learned that so many of our locations have been pushing towards this outcome and we are both excited and encouraged to have been able to identify areas for improvement.”
The assessments were completed by a sustainability consulting organization in a joint effort with Essex Furukawa, and the results were as follows:
In North America, three locations were able to be certified at Zero Waste to Landfill.
Of the other plants in North America, two magnet wire plants – Fort Wayne (IN) and Simcoe (Canada) – both just missed the threshold with 97% and 96% diversion rates, respectively. Fort Wayne was discovered that its waste was oversight that can be accounted for by better plant management processes. Simcoe had 1% of waste being erroneously sent to landfill and can be recovered moving forward, with another 2% being identified as available for mitigation and reduction practices.
The Metals Processing Center located in Columbia City (IN) was rated at 90% with identified opportunity on 8% of trash. Lastly, the Franklin (TN) Magnet Wire plant was rated at just 83% on its Zero Waste to Landfill assessment. It was found that 14% of its plant waste is water waste, and there is currently a study being done to correct that waste stream.
In Europe, all three locations were certified as Zero Waste to Landfill.
The Asia Pacific markets that were able to be analyzed both were determined to be Zero Waste to Landfill. Analysis on two plants in Malaysia have been delayed due to the impact of Covid-19.
“Essex Furukawa has embraced a holistic approach to sustainability,” Kim said.
“We will be transparent about our progress towards Vision 2030, and that includes highlighting our successes as well as addressing where we can improve.
“We are proud of our locations that are already Zero Waste to Landfill, and we are prepared to take the next steps for those locations that are not currently at the necessary diversion rates.”
About Essex Furukawa
Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire LLC is the leading, global provider of magnet wire that is used by most major OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and industry leaders in the automotive, energy, industrial, and commercial & residential sectors. The Atlanta-based company is a global joint venture formed in 2020 between Essex Magnet Wire and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., both leaders in magnet wire product development, and custom solutions. The combined entity, relying on the strengths of both Essex Magnet Wire and Furukawa Electric, draws on more than two centuries of combined experience and knowledge to push forward innovation while also remaining focused on delivering manufacturing excellence and outstanding customer service. www.essexfurukawa.com
