World Water Day 2023
Implementing sustainable practices in terms of water consumption in our production process is a key concern!
At Druckfarben Hellas group, water is a precious resource that we protect and use in a sustainable and respectful manner. Our constant goal is to save water as much as possible in our production process and continuously adopt new waste management practices.
The use of water in our company primarily pertains to the production of water-based products such as paints and inks. Specifically, it is consumed for products whose production formulas have water as a raw material and subsequently for the rinsing of containers, pipes, and other equipment used in the production of these products. The result of this consumption is liquid industrial waste, which is collected and treated in corresponding physicochemical treatment plants, and then the reclaimed water is reused as a cleaning medium.
Our main daily concern is to reduce the quantities of rinsing water. For this reason, we make sure to mainly use technologies. Specifically, the rinsing of the containers used for the majority of paint production volume (containers of 5,000 to 20,000 liters) is carried out with a high-pressure pump and special nozzles for reduced consumption. We then ensure that the rinsing water is used in the next production batch. At the same time, pigging lines have been installed to rinse the pipes connecting the containers of the main concentrated paint, the final paint and the packaging machines. This is a special piping system with an internal "cylindrical scraper" type mechanism, which is propelled by compressed air and helps to efficiently empty and clean them. The operation of the pigging lines is controlled by the PLC system, which also minimizes the amount of water required for the pipeline network.
For the production of small batches (1,000 liters), wheeled stainless steel containers, as well as corresponding mixers and ink grinding machines, are used per product category to minimize the need for extensive rinsing. The containers are cleaned either by using a high-pressure water nozzle or an automatic machine with rotating brushes to mechanically remove the residues with minimum use of clean water. Finally, we ensure that the majority of rinsing water is reused in the next similar production batch.
A pillar of all our activities is transparency. The water used in our facilities in Aspropyrgos comes from EYDAP (the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company), and respectively, for the Chalkida facility, it comes from the local municipal network. We carry out daily checks to monitor the condition of the water network, while consumption is measured on a weekly basis by the meter readers, in order to identify any leaks or other possible malfunctions and promptly address them. For each production unit, water consumption indicators per ton of product produced are annually reported and the data are communicated to the corresponding environmental statements.
For us, implementing good water management practices is a commitment that is consistently high on our priorities, as we strive to contribute in our own way to a sustainable future.
