The Argos Surface Technologies Group takes concrete action to minimise the environmental impact of its products by adopting sustainable practices, without compromising production performance levels.
The chemical treatments industry is often associated with the use of energy-intensive processes and generation of waste that is potentially damaging to the environment, but with implementation of targeted procedures, it is possible to limit environmental impacts.
With this goal, the sites of the Argos ST Group annually allocate 10% of investment to upgrading plants, optimising waste-storage methods, adopting sustainable practices for the management of packaging and research into environmentally friendly technologies and products.
Specifically, at the Cambiago, Calcio and Monteveglio sites, specialised in application of chemical nickel coatings, efficiency of the plants is increased through optimisation of raw materials, reduction in waste disposal quantities and optimisation of processing times.
How to reduce environmental impacts without compromising production performance
Actions taken to improve production functionality include increasing plant efficiency, optimisation of the use of raw materials, and monitoring and prevention to minimise the overall environmental impact.
These initiatives translate into the use of “zero-discharge” eluate technologies and treatment systems, by controlling fixed operating parameters for each phase, including temperature, concentration of solutions and maintenance plans. On top of this, production plants have adopted scrubbers to reduce atmospheric emissions and systems to prevent accidental spillages. The latter involve containment bunds positioned throughout production and storage areas.
Achieving excellent-quality production with a low environmental impact is also made possible by the structured organisation of the Group. The wide range of technologies available at the different production plants enables selection of the optimal location and systems to process the many different products.
Another key aspect in reducing the environmental impact is the planning of scheduled maintenance. All of our plants are subject to constant checks and upgrades, such as the installation of high-efficiency motors and equipment to reduce consumption, timers to programme operation only for short periods with automatic shutdown and systems for automatic filling and levelling of solutions in the tanks and basins of the assigned systems.
Continuous monitoring of systems enables prompt action in the event of a fault, replacing machinery and equipment with new models offering higher levels of safety and efficiency through the use of modern automatic control systems that guarantee optimisation of consumption and fine tuning of specific critical process phases. Use of automated systems for execution of process cycles enables constant maintenance and regular cleaning of plants and equipment (including heating/cooling systems), guaranteeing correct and regular operation of production lines.
Through all of the above actions, the Argos Surface Treatment Technologies Group operates whilst continuously reducing its ecological footprint and associated costs, managing processes in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations.