In order to reduce the CO2 emission quantity during the manufacturing process, and reduce the environmental impact (control of hazardous materials), active incorporation of new technology, and effective use of resources (recycling), such as making use of idle equipment, are important issues for us. Through our efforts to resolve these issues we have developed a high efficiency low environmental impact manufacturing method, revolutionary new technologies aiming to shorten manufacturing time, and introduced and/or replaced existing equipment with energy and resource saving equipment. We are also working to effectively manage chemical substances and reduce waste products.
In the past, we have cooled the work after hot forging and reheated it to process rough materials. However, we are now changing to a heat treatment method (self-annealing) that uses the heat remaining from the forging process. By doing so, it is now possible to use one line instead of two for heat treatment.
This has eliminated physical distribution between lines and we are able to reduce CO2 by approximately 1,115 tons per year.
With CO2 reduction as a main pillar, environmentally friendly production technology is being incorporated at all levels of the manufacturing process. Many activities are in progress, such as usage of smaller and lighter boxed parts, conversion from continuous gas carburizing furnaces to batch type carburizing furnaces, reduction of final testers, conversion from hydraulic press fitting to servo press fitting, reduction of environmental impact through direct mold carving, reuse of heat from forging, purchasing of molten metals for die-casting, elimination of the shaving process for gears, elimination of the thermal treatment process, and lightening of unit weights through use of new materials. Going forward, further avenues of possibilities will be pursued and we are aiming for further technological breakthroughs.
Aiming for new activities in global environmental preservation, we are actively pursuing collaborative efforts with companies in other fields. In FY2007, we collaborated with CHUBU Electric Power Co., Inc to observe the combustion conditions of an aluminum-melting furnace in real time and implemented a system to sustain the most suitable state of combustion. By doing so, we reduced the amount of the basic unit for fuel consumption by 2.0% and reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 35 tons in FY2008. Presently, we are promoting the same activity for the entire company.
At JATCO Mexico, we have initiated activities to reduce the environmental load by implementing measures for reduced emission of waste and a wide range of materials that cause environmental load. We are now working to acquire ISO14001 certification.
At JATCO Mexico, portions of coolant fluid used during the machining process are collected as waste fluid and stored in a basement tank. Previously, this fluid was disposed of as waste but now, by using a microfiltering device, we process 75% of the waste water for reuse.
The processed water is used for not only the grass and trees to greenify the plant but also water to drink and to wash hands.
Greening of the plant by watering the grass
