Our Focus: People, Planet, Profitability

KEY FACTORS IN SUSTAINABILITY FOR BETTER PROFITABILITY

Profitability is a key factor and condition when evaluating the reliability and capability of a company. Without profitability a company cannot thrive and develop. Profitability is, thus, a key component for any sustainable company. Expectations from owners, societies and authorities encourage us to develop our operations to a more sustainable direction and to pursue the leading position in sustainability in our industry. That leads to energy efficiency and reduced waste.

In our business, the normal waste handling and recycling is a routine task when it is compared to processing explosive waste. This kind of material must be handled and transported in the same way as explosives. Currently the only way to handle explosive residuals is open burning, but we are trying to find other options for material reusage. When material reusage is possible, it will minimise emissions to air and increase safety, as several handling stages of explosives become unnecessary.

GREAT FINDINGS IN VIHTAVUORI PRODUCTION

A more precise mapping of the origin of the explosive residuals will be done to minimise waste in every station, tunnelling site and factory. As an example, a detailed mapping work in Vihtavuori factory has resulted in production enhancements and diminished waste formation. Tracking the formation of off-spec and waste material in production helped us to identify causes and reduce error occurance. Formation of off-spec material is caused either by process, raw material or human error. Data collection is needed to understand process challenges better. Operators have an important role in writing down their observations. During more accurate follow-up many best practices have been taken into use in each shift and in written instructions.

REUSING WASTES

Good practices and routines in waste handling, efforts to reuse resources to the largest possible extent, and minimising the utilisation of virgin

Reduction of explosive waste in Vihtavuori in 2020 compared to the previous year

- 20 %

We have started to recycle high-quality plastic films and other plastic packages and sort them into material reuse or energy waste. material are reducing our environmental footprint and simultaneously improving profitability in cases where the residual streams have economical value.

Recycling of production residual streams have been realised in large scale in Hanko for many years already. Diluted acids and so-called nitrogen water is being re-used at companies in the Finnish chemical industry (approximately 6,000 tons in 2020) or recycled back to our own process (200 tons in 2020). Plastic reusage by other companies currently being investigated and tested. Recycling possibilities vary in each country.

During the year 2020 we managed to develop the quality of emulsion by several procents. Pictures below are presenting a emulsion crystallisation after stressing it. Microscopic pictures present magnifications of micrometrical diameter sizes of ammonium nitrate droplets and thus their sizes and amount can be analysed. Laboratory Technician studying rheology of emulsion in the new laboratory in Vihtavuori.

GREEN INVESTMENT EVALUATION

We have re-invested a significant part of our yearly turnover in developing our business and to support growth. When it comes to following up green investments, we are using the EU guidelines to ensure a strict and transparent classification. After evaluating our investments in year 2020 the total amount of “green investments” amounted to 6 %. It is a considerable sum of money for minimising our carbon footprint by using recycled materials and using less fossil fuels, and for innovating technology that produces less waste and emissions to air.

Forcit is in the middle of an intensive investment program to develop and grow our business. Many of the investments we make are creating workplaces in remote areas and in areas where there are high unemployment rates. Furthermore, we purchased a remarkable amount of all contractor work from local companies during year 2020.

In the coming years, our sustainability strategy directs us to do proactive co-operation with our suppliers, mainly with ammonium nitrate suppliers and logistics companies. Ammonium nitrate strongly affects our CO2 emissions and – as our main raw material – also profitability. By being transparent and persistent in customer relations we can achieve logistical advantages that benefit both parties. Affecting blasting emissions by overall optimisation and investing in modern ICT development is also in focus in our customer projects. R&D contribution will be needed in the discussions regarding plastics, waste forming and raw materials.

Recent investments in QA facilities and resources inevitably point out the importance of control measures in productions sites in supporting good-quality operations. The most important role of the QA/R&D in sustainable development is to anticipate and quickly respond to potential quality problems, thereby reducing waste both in the process and at the customer site. Key factors are well-known, monitored and analysed raw materials, intermediates of the product, and final products. This makes it easier to spot a potential error in the process; through rationalisation and validation, less chemicals and materials are consumed.

6 % of our investments contribute directly to reducing our footprint.

GOOD PRACTICES

One good example of recirculation and green attitude is the new Medium Diameter cartridge unit in Hanko. In order to improve capacity and to extend the range of dimensions, a new cartridging unit was being designed. A decision was made to utilise a de-commissioned process unit and its building in order to minimise the need for new equipment and the need to scrap equipment in perfect working order. A rigorous planning process enabled us to use most of the old process unit and its machinery, and the green investment part ended to level of 40 %. Thorough safety analyses were done prior to initial tests and prior to start-up.

Project Manager presenting the re-newed cartridge unit in Hanko production. The level of green investment in this project was calculated to be 40 %.