Press Release June 2008

11.07.2008 

EGGER’s newly re-developed Hexham plant has many environmental credentials.

EGGER last year followed up its £100 investment programme with an open day to allow local residents to actually see behind the scenes.  What they were able to witness was an ultra modern, clean and environmentally efficient process.

Very little waste is produced during the chipboard manufacturing process, whether as a raw material or as an energy source.  When timber is harvested from the forest it is usually delivered to either a sawmill or the parts of the tree that cannot be used by the sawmilling industry (e.g. the tops) can be used by EGGER.  Furthermore the off-cuts and sawdust generated by the sawmills when they produce sawn timber can then be used by EGGER.

From a visual impact point of view the new plant is neater and tidier than once it was and the company also engaged on Tynedale’s largest ever landscaping scheme with over 13,000 trees having been planted.  Although these will take some years to grow it was not possible to plant already mature trees as these would have been unlikely to take root.

Demolition

The Hexham Courant has already reported on the demolition work that is still ongoing at the Hexham plant.  An Egger spokesperson confirmed that demolition was taking place “As yet, the visual impact can only be seen from some vantage points, as the process has started from the middle of the factory to create a space to deal with the segregation of metals, etc., for disposal. This is a huge task, but we aim to have completed the demolition work by the end of the year.”

Emissions

Another area that people have questioned has been the emissions from the plant. As part of the recent re-development the company has installed the very latest ‘Wet Electrostatic Precipitator’ (WESP) technology to ensure that it continues to fall well within the statutory limits, which are among the most stringent in Europe.  The chimney vents steam which is produced when EGGER dry the delivered wood (where the weight of the wood is often equal to the water content of the wood), before further processing it into chipboard.  This is the most environmentally efficient way of removing the moisture as condensing it would involve a huge use of energy and would create the problem of where to get rid of tonnes and tonnes of hot water.  Further emissions from sawdust blowing from the site on windy days have largely been curtailed due to a new silo which stores the sawdust inside.

SUDS

A ‘Sustainable Urban Drainage System’ has been incorporated into the new development which ensures that rainwater is channelled through grass planted swailes (trapping any dust particles) and is cleansed by a reed bed which ensures that the water passed through to the river has been properly cleansed.  The log-yard where EGGER stores its timber has a deliberate gentle slope to ensure that the water is channelled into the swailes.  EGGER have used a system (SUDS) endorsed by the Environment Agency.  Even roof water does not go to waste:  It is fed into underground storage units and a water pumping station which is used for process water and for the sprinkler system.

Biomass Energy

The new energy plant which has been built as part of the new development has the objective of reducing EGGER’s fossil fuel use.  As a major user of fossil fuels this has both economic and environmental benefits.  EGGER use the waste-wood produced from their processes, such as dust, and burn it to create energy for the manufacturing processes as well as providing energy for two office blocks.  This has reduced the company’s dependence on gas and electricity to less than 30%.

Recycled Timber

Prior to the re-development EGGER had a wood recycling plant which has now doubled in size, so that it can now process 32 tonnes of timber per hour.  The type of timber used is clean timber such as packaging and pallets that does not contain chemical contaminants.  Furthermore EGGER has their own timber recycling company which collects and delivers recycled timber.

EGGER UK embraces the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification scheme which ensures that the wood used is sourced from well managed and renewable sources. Not only are the forests replanted so that the amounts of trees are replenished meaning there is no loss in the amount of trees, but 7% of the replanting includes native broadleaves which contribute to habitat provision, such as public recreation and species maintenance which can never be felled.  .

As an international company EGGER has many further environmental initiatives ongoing throughout Europe.  The latest one of which is in the Tyrolean town of St Johann in Austria where waste heat generated from the factory’s processes is piped through to the local community, which has resulted in lower fossil fuel requirements for local households and small businesses.  Furthermore it has resulted in a CO2 reduction in the town of 26,000 tonnes.  The company has subsequently been nominated for a European environmental prize.

 

Factbox Subject matter

·        Major environmental initiatives as part of Hexham plant re-development. ·        Major tree planting exercise and demolition work being carried out to improve visual impact ·        Low emissions ·        Introduction of Sustainable Urban Drainage System ·        Biomass energy plant reduces fossil fuel dependency ·        Wood recycling capacity increased ·        FSC Certification scheme to ensure wood is sourced from renewable forests.