The factory has halved the consumption of chlorate oil used as a lubricant in draw and extruding processes (equalling an annual reduction of 3,000 litres) by centrifuging the workpieces, gathering the excess amount of oil and reusing it. The factory has phased out the use of kerosene for cleaning chlorated oil from certain workpieces. The kerosene has been replaced by alkaline detergents which have made it feasible to lower the temperature in the rinsing and soap containers by 20 degrees. This has made it possible to change the heat source from electricity to district heating generated from natural gas. Thanks to this shift, the factory has obtained annual savings of around 300,000 kWh.
In addition, the soap water container has been fitted with a sloping bottom and a foot valve which permits the separation of the deposited oil – thanks to which a 50% annual reduction of the chlorated waste oil (200 tonnes) has been obtained. Furthermore, the factory has obtained considerable water savings by recirculating rinsing water through a charcoal filter and an ioniser. The consumption of rinsing water has been reduced from 13,000 to 3,000m³ per year. Demineralised water is used for the next rinsing in order to avoid stains of scale on the workpieces. This water is also recirculated and as a result the consumption has been reduced by almost 90 per cent to 240m³.