Manufacturers Implement “Green” Initiatives
Climate change, conservation, clean energy—such issues have become increasingly prominent subjects of discussion in the public sphere, and some manufacturers are taking the initiative in paving a new way forward. A few examples are Bosch Rexroth, a supplier of drive, control and motion technologies, NSK Precision
Climate change, conservation, clean energy—such issues have become increasingly prominent subjects of discussion in the public sphere, and some manufacturers are taking the initiative in paving a new way forward. A few examples are Bosch Rexroth, a supplier of drive, control and motion technologies, NSK Precision America, a manufacturer of ballscrews, linear guides and linear actuators, and machine tool builder Kitamura.
Bosch Rexroth recently announced its participation in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction, registry and trading program. The company is participating with CCX through its parent organization, the Bosch Group. Bosch has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions at its U.S. operations 6 percent from year 2000 levels by 2010. The company says it contributes to energy efficiency and sustainability in other ways as well, pointing out that its electric, hydraulic, pneumatic and linear motion products are used in areas ranging from wind energy, trash-to-energy and solar power production.
NSK Precision America is taking a similarly proactive role in environmental protection by integrating methods of green procurement, environmental education and recycling. Parent company NSK Group has challenged all its plants to earn ISO 14001 certification, to realize a waste-recycling rate of 98 percent or greater and to reduce CO2 emissions by 2010. Thus far, the company has improved its waste-recycling rate from 92 percent in 2004 to nearly 96 percent in 2008.
Kitamura points to the 20th Japan Industrial Machining Union Award for “best energy saving technology” as evidence of its conservation efforts. Received from the Japan Machinery Federation, the award recognized the company’s use of gear-driven spindles. Kitamura says its gear drive technology has demonstrated energy savings of between 40 and 50 percent in kilowatt hours when compared with direct-drive or integral spindles. According to the company, the energy savings come primarily from the fact that the gear drive allows the use of the smaller motors to drive the spindles, compared with direct-drive or integral models that use larger motors to achieve the same cutting capacity.
