The management of hazardous waste has always been a top priority for our company. For years we have had close agreements with the most important and reliable players in the disposal chain. More than 95% of our waste is destined for recycling.
Every year, as required by law, our waste is carefully analysed by specialised laboratories. The relationship between waste and cast iron is very stable thanks to a consolidated and reliable production cycle.
Over the years, the increasingly careful selection of waste has increased the number of waste substance categories produced. In 2018, the complex management of environmental regulations and activities required the introduction of specific software to control them.
2018 marks an important turnaround in energy efficiency as a result of a major efficiency campaign that is still ongoing.
The negative peak of 2017 was affected, in the first half of the year, by the set in motion of the automatic casting ladle Induga Puma Pro.1500. The results of these efforts were already largely in the second half of 2017 and were largely confirmed in 2018.
The company is working to further improve its performance and has set itself the goal of achieving ISO 50001 Energy Certification by the end of 2020.
Special cast irons have become one of the strengths of Palmieri Foundries in recent years. Today, the special cast iron sector accounts for about 20% of the volume produced. All these castings are subject to thermic treatment. In recent years, our company has come to equip itself with 3 furnaces for heat treatment that allow total autonomy in the management of this process. The furnaces are equipped with sophisticated systems to control gas consumption and temperatures. Each treatment cycle is verified by expert and qualified technicians and the graphs are stored on special software. The sector is in continuous growth, so we expect further increases in gas consumption in the coming years.
The Fonderie Palmieri obtains the water for the production process from a groundwater well, for which it has a regular usage permission. The constant increase in water consumption is due to a continuous increase in production. In 2015, the company installed a plant for cooling and recycling green sand. Cooling the sand requires large amounts of water to maintain a constant temperature of the moulding sand and thus an efficient use of resources.
The well water is also used for the sanitary facilities (baths and showers), the cooling of the melting furnaces and the cooling of the compressors. The temperature of the cooling water leaving the compressors is approx. 35/45 °C and is stored in a tank and reused as hot water for sanitary purposes.
