Dana Cardanes plant accomplished the Clean Industry Certificate from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA, by its Spanish initials) due to sustainable practices of the company and its labor culture in favor of the environment.
With this distinction, Cardanes joins the other three plants the company has in Queretaro (Forjas, CV Componentes and Enco) with this certification.
Karine Rocha, regional manager of Environmental Affairs in Dana Mexico, talked about the long way this plant personnel undertook to settle this appointment, which provides the company benefits, such as the reduction of operation costs and its lowering of pollution emissions into the environment, among others.
“The greatest benefit of having this program, as a business, is that today with the new Government scheme, the plants will not have inspections with this new certification and it keeps us free of fines and sanctions, but regarding environmental benefits, is sustainability in the use of our natural resources,” noted Rocha during a report of results offered to collaborators and company directives located at the Benito Juarez Industrial Park of Queretaro capital.
To settle the certification, Cardanes had to comply 22 lists which included 3,000 requirements, 10 % of them were of good practices, which among other actions, included energy savings, wastes minimizing and water consumption.
However, Karine added, the size of the factory represented a challenge to fulfill the commitment. Meanwhile, Jorge Coronado Benavides, plant manager at Dana Cardanes, this unit is the largest among those settled by this firm in the country.
“To dimension, the achievement is worth to say that it is not the same implementing all the requirements of the standard on a large site than in a small site where it could take more time obtaining the approvals and investments that have to be done,” Coronado Benavides emphasized in the interview.
PROGRAM
The national program of environmental audit is oriented to “companies in operation, which due to their location, dimensions, characteristics, and scopes can cause effects or negative impacts to the environment or exceed the limits established in applicable provisions in protection, prevention, and restoration on environmental matters.”
To recognize the improvement of their environmental performance, PROFEPA grants companies the environmental certificate valid for 2 years, which can be renewed subsequently.
Distinguishing the diversity of the business sector, the program has three types of certificates: Clean Industry Certificate, Environmental Quality Certificate, and Touristic Environmental Quality Certificate.
ACTIONS
Dana Cardanes applied for the Clean Industry certification, therefore it planned a Project to gain the appointment, which was fulfilled through the Department of Safety Processes and Environmental Control of the own plant, coordinated by Rosa Maria Estrada Grajeda.
One of the main involved, Ricardo Zuniga Santiago, maintenance chief of the facilities area, detailed this process which lasted more than one year and a half.
“The most important subject is the environmental issue and energy savings, such as water, gas, and electricity. This last one is the most important good in which we saw the opportunity. Currently, the plant has more than 5 thousand machines, which of course, to produce, need electric energy. We have optimized on them practically more than 80 % in energy consumption. Those projects have been focused on the equipment that has more demand and consumption, such as furnaces, we have inductive electric furnaces, engines bigger than 20 horses (of strength) and compressors which are the most important loads.”
Zuniga Santiago explained that these machines currently have mechanisms that automatically turn off when not detecting use, this same dynamic was taken to the rest of the plant.
All offices and workspaces joined the scheme named “Shut off,” in which employees are encouraged to use only the required energy and the necessary time. From 2015 to date, electric savings have amounted 15,681,999 kWH, “this equals a consumption similar to 50 % of what is consumed on the Queretaro capital during a month,” proudly shared the interviewer.
“Of course, there is more than an economic benefit. Part of those savings was addressed to a homeless children’s home. It was a resource of about 120 thousand pesos,” he added.
Aida Alonso Martinez, supervisor of the Department of Safety and Environment, talked about another challenge, which are pollutant emissions to air.
“Given our process has tempering and charred furnaces, we have about 40 emissions to have them under the standard, to assure your chimneys are within the alignments specified, the investment there was interesting.”
To adjust chimneys to the standard specifications and obtain the Unique Environmental Permit (UEP,) the company addressed 95,000 dollars, said, Aida Alonso.
According to internal reports, with these actions, the plant stopped issuing 39,375 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.
However, the situation that delayed the most the obtaining of the certification was a cacti. Inside the premises occupied by the plant, a golden Biznaga was discovered, classified by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SMENARNAT, by its Spanish initials,) as a risk of extinction species.
“We have a small garden of cacti in which are different varieties, but one of them was classified in the standard as a risk of extinction species. As we did not know we have this legal situation, we had to place it in processes. Our certification was done 6 months ago, but the consulting house said that there was a cacti that caused doubt, it turned that it was on the list (of risk species) and after 6 months they released the certificate, therefore the entire registration process before the SEMARNAT and all that for a single specimen.”
CARDANES
Dana Cardanes was founded in 1971 and currently has 1,150 workers.
“It is the most important and largest plant of the entire Dana Mexico due to its impact on sales, profits and the number of people working on it,” underlined the plant manager.
It currently has a portfolio of 31 customers, 15 of them automotive assemblers such as Nissan, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Kenworth, Daimler Trucks North America, Navistar International, CNH, John Deere, among others.
Dana Cardanes promotes these companies of cardan axis and crossheads, as well as other components of the power transmission system, such as transmission axis, all-terrain transmissions, sealed and thermal-control products and service pieces.
Most of these products are exported. According to the company information, 70 % of sales are placed outside Mexico, from those, 90 % are generated in the American market, the rest in countries like Australia, Spain, and England.
