Annual Report 2006 - Munters

Step by step toward sustainable developmentEnvironment and qualityMunters’ viewpoint with regard to ethics and environmental work is crystal-clear. There is noconflict between modern technology and work towards a brighter future. Through continuousimprovement of the quality of products and services, the company contributes to economically andenvironmentally sustainable development of industries and operations around the world. Within ourown walls, intensive effort is directed toward developing the Group’s corporate social responsibilityprogram. This work will come to be seen as a role model for operations in all countries.Munters is a company with a deeply rooted sense of socialresponsibility. During 2006, guidelines for Munters globalresponsibility policy were drawn up. The policy is based on theUN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the InternationalLabor Organization’s Declaration on FundamentalPrinciples and Rights at Work. It also addresses such themes asbusiness ethics, company culture, health, safety, corruption andregard for the environment, and provides a code of conduct thatapplies to employees of Munters and to the entire value chainof suppliers, partners and customers. (The policy in its entiretycan be found at www.munters.com.)CASEMunters Italy a leader in environmental effortsThe province of Imperia, 70 km from the French borderin the beautiful Liguria region, is the location ofMunters Italian facilities – two modern factories wherefans and cooling pads, respectively, are manufactured.Here, thinking in terms of the environment and qualityis a well-established and natural part of the workprocess, both with regard to long-term planning anddaily operations. Efforts carried out during 2006included:Installation of a system for recovery of heat from thefactories’ smokestacks. The system contributed toa considerable reduction in heating costs at thefacilities.Sorting and recycling of materials such as glass,plastic and metal from the production stream.Reduction of the level of waste material from themanufacture of cooling pads from 4.0 percent to1.7 percent since 2005.A halving of consumption of glues during 2006, byswitching glues and employing a new process thatincreased the efficiency of this part of themanufacturing process.Modification of several workstations along theassembly line at the fan factory, resulting in amarked increase in productivity. Today, 25 peopledo a job that previously required 40 people.Elimination of two environmentally challengingmanufacturing steps by purchasing brackets for50-inch fans from a supplier with special equipment– at no additional cost – instead of producingthem in-house.Munters is both a technology and an environmental companyMunters is not only a technology company, but also, in allessential respects, an environmental company. The company’sproducts and services help customers to reduce their impact onthe environment and, thereby, to take definite steps in the directionof sustainable development. A focus on the environmentalso characterizes our own operations. Munters is engaged incontinuous improvement on the basis of an explicit environmentalpolicy. Our main environmental arguments include:Technologies to minimize consumption of water and energy.Increased control of waste levels at all stages.Increased reuse of material from damage restoration.Environmentally oriented work processes.Technology for treatment of flue-gas emissions and environmentallyhazardous substances.Quality throughout the value chainMunters’ position as the world leader for humidity controlplaces high demands on continuous efforts aimed at ensuringquality within all operational areas. Munters has a qualityassurancepolicy to guide these efforts, which can be found atwww.munters.com. Munters’ ambition is to offer products,systems and services with a high level of performance anda consistently high level of quality. “The right product tothe right customer” is a motto at Munters. This can onlybe achieved via a complete chain of coordinated and wellplannedwork processes throughout the Group.In order to achieve constant improvement and definiteresults, quality-assurance work is organized around measurablegoals in accordance with Munters’ Efficiency Program(MEP) – the Group’s work model for efficiency enhancement.MEP encompasses some 30 different areas of focus in thequality-improvement area and aims to contribute to increasingparticipation and gain greater benefit from the talent andresources contained in the organization. Munters’ goal withrespect to delivery performance is that 95 percent of all deliveriesare made on-time.During 2006, for example, a number of investments weremade at the Tobo factory to raise and secure the level of operationalquality, including recertification in accordance withISO 9001:2000, which involves parameters relating to strategy,processes, project management, quality-assurance, the environmentand the work-environment. A new computerized systemfor quality and environmental management was introducedduring the year, entailing that all documents and pictures arecollected in one place. At a stroke, it became easier for everyonein the organization to find the right information. The system iseasy to update and news can be sent out electronically. M U N T E R S A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 6