Increasing the company’s competitiveness through the introduction to production of environmentally friendly fencing panels manufactured from recyclable materials.

Project description

The most rapidly developing branch of the construction market is ecological construction. Ecological building materials had emerged in response to the need for solutions friendly to the environment and humans. Our project introduced the results of Expo-Drew's own research and development work, i.e. ecological fencing panels made of waste materials, which are innovative on the national scale. The panels are made of composite boards consisting of 80% waste material, i.e. wood flour and PVC, from our production of ceramic tiles and exhibition systems. Inside there are elements made of sheet metal or steel closed profile. The new panels are intended for construction investors and the mass consumer, primarily for fencing in single-family housing.

By introducing the new production technology, Expo-Drew has contributed to the growth of circular economy - in the first year after project completion about 73.50 tons of waste will be reused. The modern equipment of the production line has low electricity consumption. An additional environmentally friendly element of the project is a highly efficient co-generation unit producing energy from gas. In total, we will reduce our energy consumption by 0.12 GWh and CO2 emissions by at least 106 tons per year.

Under the project, production machines were purchased - laser machining centres, automatic racks for storing raw materials and products, and a container co-generation unit. We also benefitted from advisory services of the Norwegian partner - International Development Norway AS, which operates within the SINTEF research institute. The partner helped to adjust Expo-Drew production processes to the Industry 4.0 and digital transformation requirements, i.e. to create a pilot of a smart factory, which covers machines and devices purchased under the project.