August 06, 2010 - Marrying the environment and industry is not an easy task. However one of the battery industry’s leading players has managed to do just that. By taking the lead on environmental issues HOPPECKE is living by its corporate values.
Consideration for the environment is central to HOPPECKE Industrial Batteries core values; this is reflected in the global company’s commitment to re-cycling at its own European based facilities. The company has also invested in the development of battery technology, identifying greener options and tailoring its products to encompass them. This has resulted in a successful drive to reduce the carbon footprint of the company and its customers.
In addition to reducing the carbon footprint of users of its products, HOPPECKE has also invested in the very latest battery re-cycling facilities at its headquarters in Germany. These are supported by the company’s UK division. HOPPECKE goes above and beyond its legal obligations in terms of recycling old batteries. It provides its customers and the wider market with a complete recycling system for lead-acid batteries.
As Bernard Molloy, Managing Director of HOPPECKE Industrial Batteries explained: “As a company, we have invested more in research and development, as a percentage of total revenue, than all of our competitors. This has resulted in the creation of a range of battery systems that utilise high frequency and air circulation technology making them up to 30 per cent more energy efficient than traditional systems.”
Thrice certified.
HOPPECKE’s metal foundry is the only one in Europe to have been successfully certified to three separate standards: DIN EN ISO 9001 (methods and process), DIN EN ISO 14001 (environment audit) and special waste disposal regulations covering all associated waste codes for storage, treatment and recycling.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry there are currently no facilities in the UK for recycling nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries and the level of recycling industrial NiCd batteries is currently zero. However there has been wide-spread recycling of automotive and industrial lead acid batteries in England for many years. Recycling is really the only safe option available as it is illegal to dispose of waste industrial batteries by using a landfill or incineration.
HOPPECKE’s worldwide recycling service includes the removal of battery installations and the safe conveyance of the battery from the UK to the recycling facility in Germany. Once there it is processed to remove the lead content. It is then re-cycled and used in the production of new grid plates for new batteries.
At all stages of the process the batteries are stored securely to ensure they do not present any risk to the environment. Any harmful waste from the recycling process is disposed of responsibly and in line with the most stringent European standards and legislation.
Preserving vital resources.
Furthermore, as well as protecting the environment, HOPPECKE technology is helping to preserve one of the planet’s most valuable resources – water. Its latest range of Sprint HF chargers use 70 per cent less water than traditional charger systems.
“We’re really passionate about recycling,” said Bernard Molloy. “Our commitment to the environment is firmly part of HOPPECKE’s ethos. Discovering new, greener technologies is at the heart of our research and development. We feel that we’re leading the way, showing that industry can work together, hand-in-hand with the environment.”
HOPPECKE’s commitment to the environment and green issues is summed up in its ‘Corporate Principles and Guidelines on Cooperation and Leadership’. “We are responsible for the careful management of the resources entrusted to us – people, capital, time, the environment and raw materials – with consideration for social aspects and encouragement of environmentally-friendly processes, techniques and products.”
- Ends -
HOPPECKE was founded in 1927 and is now the leading specialist for industrial battery systems, and at the same time the largest battery manufacturer in European ownership. Hoppecke offers to its customers throughout the world, concepts for efficient and reliable power supply for every industrial application. A leading exponent of environmental care for more than 80 years, Hoppecke offers solutions for a variety of industries including motive power, reserve power for IT/telecoms, power stations, solar energy and UPS, special power for rail and underground. It is a European leader in recycling of industrial batteries, and operates its own recycling foundry for lead-acid batteries, thereby making a substantial contribution to careful husbanding of resources. Hoppecke invests heavily in innovation and has one of the largest R&D departments in the industry with an estimated 5 per cent of turnover being ploughed into R&D to bring new battery technologies to market. Its UK operation is based in Newcastle-Under-Lyme in the Midlands.
Media contact:
Sue Tupling
Changeworks Communications
T. + 44 (0) 1785 247588 / + 44 (0) 7703 023026
E.
Company contact:
David Millett
Hoppecke Industrial Batteries Ltd
Unit 2 Lowfield Drive
Centre 500
Wolstanton
Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 0UU
T 01782 667305
E:
W: http://www.hoppecke.co.uk
Tags: battery recycling, environment, battery technology, enegy efficient batteries, Hoppecke,
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