Thermaflex Case Study
Index
Introduction
The company used in the case study is Thermaflex, a company headquartered in The Netherlands with 450 employees. Established in 1976, this SME is a renowned international company from Dutch origin which has specialized itself in special piping and foam insulation materials for cooling and heating purposes. Demand for their products comes from customers from over 40 countries. Thermaflex has 5 production facilities: Poland, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, and the Netherlands. These production facilities are needed to serve its growing set of customers. These customers are increasingly concerned with the drawbacks of having a high energy consumption; money can be saved and environmental issues can be addressed by using Thermaflex’s products (Zuidgeest, 2014). These products include ThermaInsulation, Flexalen, and Special Foam (Thermaflex, 2014).
All aspects of Thermaflex’s business are geared towards making sure that a reduction of energy consumption and, consequently, CO2 emissions is realized (Zuidgeest, 2014). Moreover, Thermaflex’s production process in itself is largely environmentally friendly as well due to the use of polyolefines and polybutens which are the materials used in the fully recyclable pre-insulated pipes (Thermaflex, 2014). Consequently, Thermaflex is active in providing solutions which are helpful to not only reduce end-of-pipe waste, but production practices and products which are already green to begin with. Where Thermaflex’s direct competitors use unrecyclable plastics as their main basic material, Thermaflex is constantly looking for new ways to improve recyclability and, thus, reduce CO2 emissions by using more environmentally friendly materials (Zuidgeest, 2014).
Thermaflex tries to move the industry forward by enacting in certified initiatives, like the Green Deal (Rijksoverheid, n.d.) and Cradle-to-Cradle (Cradle-to-Cradle, n.d.; Thermaflex, 2014; Zuidgeest, 2014). Moreover, REACH regulations stipulate that
Introduction
The company used in the case study is Thermaflex, a company headquartered in The Netherlands with 450 employees. Established in 1976, this SME is a renowned international company from Dutch origin which has specialized itself in special piping and foam insulation materials for cooling and heating purposes. Demand for their products comes from customers from over 40 countries. Thermaflex has 5 production facilities: Poland, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, and the Netherlands. These production facilities are needed to serve its growing set of customers. These customers are increasingly concerned with the drawbacks of having a high energy consumption; money can be saved and environmental issues can be addressed by using Thermaflex’s products (Zuidgeest, 2014). These products include ThermaInsulation, Flexalen, and Special Foam (Thermaflex, 2014).
All aspects of Thermaflex’s business are geared towards making sure that a reduction of energy consumption and, consequently, CO2 emissions is realized (Zuidgeest, 2014). Moreover, Thermaflex’s production process in itself is largely environmentally friendly as well due to the use of polyolefines and polybutens which are the materials used in the fully recyclable pre-insulated pipes (Thermaflex, 2014). Consequently, Thermaflex is active in providing solutions which are helpful to not only reduce end-of-pipe waste, but production practices and products which are already green to begin with. Where Thermaflex’s direct competitors use unrecyclable plastics as their main basic material, Thermaflex is constantly looking for new ways to improve recyclability and, thus, reduce CO2 emissions by using more environmentally friendly materials (Zuidgeest, 2014).
Thermaflex tries to move the industry forward by enacting in certified initiatives, like the Green Deal (Rijksoverheid, n.d.) and Cradle-to-Cradle (Cradle-to-Cradle, n.d.; Thermaflex, 2014; Zuidgeest, 2014). Moreover, REACH regulations stipulate that
References: Anderson, P. and Tushman, M.L. (1990) Technological discontinuities and dominant designs: a cyclical model of technological change. Berkhout, P., Muskens, J., & W Velthuijsen, J. (2000). Defining the rebound effect. Energy policy, 28(6), 425-432. Braungart, M., McDonough, W. and Bollinger, A. (2007) Cradle-to-cradle design: creating healthy emissions – a strategy for eco-effective product and system design. B-Lands Consulting REACH Compliance. (2007-2012). Reach Implementation Timeline 2006-2022. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from B-Lands Consulting: http://www.reach-compliance.eu/english/compliance/timeline/timeline.html. Cradle-to-Cradle. (n.d.) retrieved 03 15, 2014 from: http://www.c2ccertified.org/product_certification McDonough, W & Braungart, M.(2001) Reinventing the world, Green@Work McDonough, W & Braungart, M. (2001). Reinventing the world: step two, Green@Work. 9:37e40. McDonough, W & Braungart, M. (2001). Reinventing the world: step three, Green@Work. 10:33e5. McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. (2001). Reinventing the world: step four, Green@Work.11:29e32. McDonough, W & Braungart, M. (2001). Reinventing the world: step five, Green@Work.12:32e5 Rijksoverheid Schumpeter, J. (1942) Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper & Brothers. Thermaflex. (2014). Company website. Retrieved from www.thermaflex.com/index Tushman, M., & Anderson, P Verfaillie, H., & Bidwell, R. (2000). Measuring eco-efficiency: a guide to reporting company performance. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Zuidgeest, M. (2014). Group CSR expert at Thermaflex, Interview case study Thermaflex. Sources: (Thermaflex, 2014), (Armacell Enterprise GmbH & Co, 2014), (NMC, n.d.), (Orbis, 2014) Appendix 3: Technological discontinuity