Annual Report 2008 English [PDF, 2.69 MB] - Tessenderlo Group

annual report 2008
Under the terms of the agreements,
salt discharges will be reduced to
one tenth of current levels by 2014 at
the latest. For this purpose,
10 million EUR are being invested
in the modification of the production
installations in the plant at Ham. In
addition, 20 million EUR will be invested
in cleaning up sludge basins, and the
company will co-operate to clean up the
historic pollution of the banks of the local
streams Laak and Winterbeek.
Focus on energy
The necessary energy surveys were
carried out in 2008 in the companies that
signed the Flemish Covenant on Energy
Benchmarking. These surveys serve as the
basis for the energy plans for the period
2008-2012.
A better insight into the energy situation
resulted in further energy savings in
several places.
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Thanks to the new production process used
in Ham, considerably less sludge needs
to be stored. This means that 30 hectares
of land will become available for new
industrial estates. In joint agreement with
the Flemish and the Limburg authorities,
Tessenderlo Group is keen to convert the
vacant space in Ham into industrial land.
Its location along the Albert canal is an
important advantage.
Quality department
In 2008, the quality department continued
to assist the various departments in
implementing and maintaining the quality
management systems in accordance
with the international standards, and
maintaining the required certificates for
the marketing of products in the various
markets.
With regard to the historic soil
contamination of the factory sites in
Limburg, the extent of the contamination
has been outlined in descriptive soil
surveys as agreed with the public
authorities. These surveys specify the risks
as well as the necessity to clean up the soil.
At the same time, the soil decontamination
activities that were already underway, are
being continued.
Health, safety and risk management
The production units of Tessenderlo Group
made major investments in health and
safety in 2008. For example, a new digital
work permit system was introduced at
the sites in West-Limburg (Belgium).
Preparations for maintenance works now
occur in a uniform and structured manner.