Climate pioneers

National policies supporting the country‘s climate ambitions have already been reflected by Swedish companies for a long time and are resulting in substantial successes. System 3R, a subsidiary of GF Machining Solutions, for example, became carbon-neutral seven years ago. The company, which produces high-precision tooling and automation systems, is located in Vällingby, a borough of Stockholm, and was the first GF site to take this important sustainability step.

Unsurprisingly, System 3R also chose a rather straightforward path to achieving carbon-neutrality: The company opted for green electricity early on – even if this resulted in higher energy bills. Today, the company runs solely with certified energy from water power. Subsequently, it vowed to become more energy-efficient, updating all lightbulbs to LEDs and replacing all the cooling aggregates that are used to create a controlled production environment in the CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) rooms and grinding departments.

This attention to the environment is also reflected in the general attitude of the employees, many of whom cycle to work – weather permitting – or use public transport or hybrid cars. Christophe himself chose the last option, opting for a Volvo, of course.

“We want to participate proactively in achieving GF’s sustainability targets,” explains Christophe. This is done through the sale of System 3R’s high-precision tooling to the rest of GF Machining Solutions and its customers. The better and more precise the tooling, the longer it lives and the less waste it produces, creating a range of benefits: The tools have to be replaced less frequently and use less energy while in operation. “Our target is to provide customers with products that increase productivity, while being sustainable in terms of energy,” Christoph says.

Meanwhile, at System 3R the effort continues. Having reached carbon-neutrality, the company now wants to become even more energy-efficient and consume less water. One idea is to do this by prolonging the lifetime of the coolant water needed in the milling and lathe CNC machines by cleaning it from bacteria using ultraviolet light.

Given that approximately 50 tons of water are used annually at System 3R for cooling, being able to use the same water twice would lead to substantial savings. Currently, the industrial solutions for this are too expensive, but System 3R hopes cheaper ones will eventually become available – and maybe even be produced within GF.