Street furniture specialist Broxap has unveiled a first of its kind powder coating system that uses nanotechnology to cut waste water and support more sustainable manufacturing practices as part of a major upgrade at the company’s Staffordshire manufacturing base.
Over the past three years Broxap has invested more than £3 million in transforming its headquarters to be more sustainable – a considerable investment for the family-owned firm, which was founded in 1946.
Within its commitment to sustainability, Broxap is exploring green energy production and has introduced a number of efficiency measures.
The environmentally friendly powder coating plant – the only one of its kind in the UK – features the unique PROTEX™ proprietary surface treatment. This nanotechnological conversion employs the chemistry of organic phosphorus compounds for a system that is totally free of heavy metals.
The nanocoating created by the PROTEX™ process is highly hydrophobic and provides excellent adhesion and high corrosion resistance. During the process a reverse osmosis system purifies the rinse water, reducing water consumption by up to 50% if compared to conventional zinc phosphate pre-treatments and eliminating waste water and toxic sludge.
Matthew Miles, Manufacturing Director at Broxap, said: “Maintaining high standards in product quality while reducing the environmental impact of operations is a big challenge for manufacturers.
“At Broxap we have made a commitment to put sustainability at the heart of our operations and the new automated powder coating system is one of the most significant investments we have made to reduce our carbon footprint.
“The system not only respects the environment, it improves the quality and safety of working conditions for our production teams, delivers better flexibility for management and provides excellent results for customers.”
The Eurotherm-designed system is energy saving too, using half the gas and electrical energy consumption of a zinc phosphate counterpart system.
This is partly down to the design of the drying and curing ovens, which feature the latest burner technology and are built to retain optimum temperatures for longer and reduce heat loss.
These are not the only ways the system is breaking new ground. Already it has proven capable of handling the impressive variety of products and component shapes and sizes going through Broxap’s factory day after day.
As well as treating galvanised steel, the nanocoating created by the PROTEX™ process provides excellent adhesion for powder coating for other metals too.
Cast iron and even polyurethane street furniture has successfully undergone this colour coating process to achieve superior levels of corrosion protection, preventing the release of toxins into the atmosphere associated with wet painting.
The return for Broxap is almost double capacity and throughput, with shorter lead times for customers. And in the sustainability stakes, employing these efficient methods delivers products with long-term durability.
Matthew added: “Equipping our factory with smart technologies and innovative systems supports operational efficiency, reduced energy consumption and green energy production as we look to identify, and work towards, net zero targets and other environmental management objectives.
“These optimised methods also ensure our products last longer, offer supreme durability and lend themselves to remanufacturing and recycling to save on raw materials.
“These practices are becoming more important to sustainable manufacturing in the UK and we’re very proud to put ourselves at the forefront of change.”
Broxap is supporting a circular economy by doing everything it can to keep resources in use as long as possible so the maximum value is extracted and waste is minimised.
Over in the timber workshop for example, offcuts are repurposed as spacers when packing products and sawdust is compressed into bales to be burned cleanly in the winter in new heater units installed throughout the factory.
The business proudly boasts Zero Waste to Landfill status, finding new ways to reuse and recycle to keep improving its sustainability status.
These initiatives are routinely celebrated as it ingrains a culture of sustainability in the workplace and along its supply chain.
It wants clients to be sure they are working with a responsible business that takes social value and environmental impact seriously, and it ensures those same standards also apply to its supplier base.
As well as investing in sustainable manufacturing systems it encourages environmental care along the network of companies involved in the creation of products and services. And that extends to sheet metal machinery suppliers.
Investments under its improvement programme ‘Project Transform’ include a fibre laser cutting machine; new press brakes with automatic tool change functions; a state-of-the-art five axis CNC machining centre; and a fleet of electric forklift trucks.
These smart technologies and innovative systems support operational efficiency, reduced energy consumption, a smaller carbon footprint and green energy production.
These optimised methods also ensure Broxap products, while built to last, also lend themselves to remanufacturing and recycling to save on raw materials.
In the Shelters, Canopies and Walkways division, mild steel raw material is produced from 80-93% recycled steel. All steel products from its supplier can be 100% recycled.
Aluminium glazing bars for roofing assemblies are 100% recyclable and, due to the properties of aluminium, they can be recycled an infinite number of times.
Broxap’s polycarbonate sheeting manufacturer demonstrates that it recycles 100% of all polycarbonate waste during production and the polycarbonate itself is 100% recyclable.
Other positive actions include reworking and making good products which have been damaged or given a new function; reducing CO2 emissions by eliminating unnecessary travel through virtual site surveys; liaising with clients using web-based technology such as video conferencing, and keeping all operations – production and commercial – under one roof.
Matthew said: “Broxap is working smarter – for the benefit of the environment, its clients and the bottom line.”
