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Bangalore, 20th August, 2020
Wienerberger India, today announced that it has gone a step further in its endeavour to achieve sustainability in production by switching to Natural Gas from conventional solid fuel for the Brick Kiln firing process at its factory operations in Kunigal, (70 kms North of Bangalore, Karnataka).
This announcement follows the commitment made by the company in December 2019 on the occasion of its 10th anniversary in India. One of the key investment plans outlined was the conversion to natural gas as a fuel to enable manufacturing of Porotherm Perforated Clay Blocks. Porotherm Smart Bricks are 60% lighter than conventional walling material, thus allowing substantial savings on structural cost due to reduction in dead load. This also allows for faster construction and ease of handling.
Wienerberger AG is consistently pursuing projects that involve converting to low-emission energy sources wherever possible. In 2020, the target has been for the production process at India to be converted from coal to natural gas in line with Wienerberger’s corporate philosophy of providing sustainable solutions to all stakeholders.
The company has already rolled out its new Sustainability Strategy 2020+, which will provide the basis for the sustainability program from 2021 onwards. Decarbonization will be one of the three central action areas.
Benefits of the conversion initiative:
The key benefits of the newer firing technology for its Brick Klin firing (Gas firing) at Wienerberger’s production facility in Kunigal are:
· Higher fuel efficiency, reducing Carbon Monoxide emission by > 75%
· Reduction in Carbon dioxide emissions by > 40%
· Zero Particulate matter emission during firing process
· Consistent and higher quality of the fired bricks
The Kunigal factory affirms the usage of Robotics and state-of-the-art technology and has an extremely energy-efficient manufacturing processes. The factory is also highly equipped with a full-fledged in-house laboratory and product development facilities.
Elaborating on this conversion, Monnanda Appaiah, Managing Director, Wienerberger India, said, “We are extremely delighted to announce the commissioning of natural gas fuel at our Kunigal factory, which was achieved in a short period of time, despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic. This change in technology will almost eliminate the particulate matters emitted from the kiln during the firing process. We are certain that our Kunigal factory emission norms will match world class norms in emission and would be substantially better than the emission norms laid out as per the Indian environmental standards.
Apart from the positive contribution to the environment, health & safety of our employees and the communities in the vicinity, we expect our product quality to also improve considerably with this switch over.
We believe that the timing is just right for us to further the Wienerberger global Sustainability Strategy 2020+.”
The latest technology for the new installation (Gas firing) is provided by Beralmar Technologic S.A., a European company (Spain), specialized in manufacturing of firing and drying equipment for clay roof tiles and bricks.
Wienerberger India Pledges to Save Water in Construction Sites on the Occasion of World Water Day
March 22, 2020
Wienerberger India’s Porotherm Dryfix. System helps radically reduce water usage during the construction phase of a building. This solution also enables enhanced speed of construction resulting in faster delivery of building projects. The company, as a leader in manufacturing sustainable building materials, pledges to save water by offering smart and innovative solutions to reduce water consumption in construction sites.
World Water Day is observed on 22nd March every year to celebrate water and its importance. But with the water crisis striking most parts of the world, this day is observed to raise awareness about billions of people living without access to safe water. The core focus of observing this day is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis.
According to the IBEF report, the realty sector in India is expected to contribute 13 percent of the country’s GDP by 2025. However, the latest NITI Aayog report exhibits that six percent of the GDP would be lost by 2050 because of the water crisis. This implies that it is the high time that realtors realise the need of efficient water management at the construction sites.
A study by Jadavpur University in 2016 found that water consumption in typical urban constructions of India was in the range of about 27-kilolitres per sq m of the total built-up area. The embodied water of significant building materials was in the range of 25.6 kl/sq m, while the water consumed during the actual construction was two kl/sq m.
Monnanda Appaiah, MD, Wienerberger India, adds, “There is an urgent need for greater water vigilance and judiciousness at the stage of material production, whether it is during the making of bricks, steel or other construction material. Urban planners are already looking at reformulating their strategies to manage urban sprawl and growth on a more sustainable basis. Wienerberger is empowering these efforts through continuous innovation and development of smart and future-ready solutions for the building and construction industry. Our product Porotherm Dryfix. System, a dry mortar system, can entirely replace the conventional mortar and help build walls without the need for curing. Thus, saving precious natural resources like water and sand.”
Porotherm Dryfix. System is a new-age innovative masonry system that caters to the requirements of environmentally conscious builders, architects and responsible citizens. It is a technologically advanced wall building system that improves productivity, saves cost, ensures faster construction of walls through minimum resource utilization and zero wastage, while maintaining a cleaner and healthier working environment.