Essentra’s environmental credentials boost productivity

Essentra Components has announced its recent move towards sustainable manufacturing has positively impacted both its carbon footprint and its business productivity.

The installation of new electric injection moulding machinery has been one of the biggest driving factors in the productivity uplift, according to a recent press release, with two of the new machines running with an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) score of between 70 and 80 per cent compared to their predecessors, which we running at an average OEE score of just 45 per cent across the board at their peak.

Furthermore, the run hours of the new machines have increased by 50 per cent. One previous machine was experiencing figures of 2,142 down hours and only 700 run hours; with the newer machines, these figures are effectively reversed, with upwards of 2,447 hours and only 420 down (measured whilst running 24 hours a day between 1 January and 2 May 2021).

Essentra Components also recently adjusted the composition of its LDPE range to include up to 40 per cent post-consumer recycled plastics. The ambition was to help customers improve their sustainability score and reduce their carbon footprint without the need to completely overhaul their infrastructure.

The introduction of post-industrial recyclate has helped Essentra Components reduce its scope 3 carbon emissions.

Richard Sederman, Essentra Components’ Strategy and M&A Director, said: “We were aware that making significant change would require equally significant investment, however, we weren’t aware just how quickly we’d see the benefits feed through into the business.

“The overall ambition was twofold: firstly, we wanted to reduce our carbon footprint to such a level that the business can move closer to its net zero goal; and secondly we wanted to future-proof the business with new, more efficient machinery. In the long run we expected these changes to have a marked improvement on day-to-day running but weren’t expecting the results to be so good so soon. 

“Clearly, going green is not just good for the environment, but better for business.”