^{07. June 2023} Mission sustainability: Pelger goes step by step into a green future

Sustainable management as a business model is an ideal whose honorable mission is dedicated to preserving the livelihood of future generations and social-ecological justice. Not many companies succeed in consistently implementing these goals, as they have to be permanently reconciled with economic conditions and objectives and weighed up against each other.  
 
It is therefore not so important to want to meet the ideal 100%, but to continue the transformation process towards a green economy and to gradually discard and optimize ecologically disadvantageous processes, activities and framework conditions.  
 
The company Pelger GmbH from the Westerwald region of Germany is following this path very steadily and can therefore be regarded as a shining example. The manufacturer of woven wire cloth and conveyor systems from Neuhäusel set out on its path several years ago and has turned numerous "green" adjusting screws. Particular emphasis is placed on clean energy: if you take a bird's eye view of the company premises, you will immediately recognize the photovoltaic system, which covers almost the entire roof area of the wire belt manufacturer. A total of 1980 square meters of roof area full of solar modules provide electricity from solar energy, which covers 100% of the high energy requirements of the family-owned company in its second generation. Energy surpluses can also be stored in electricity reservoirs or fed directly into the power grid - so the region also benefits from solar power. 
 
The fact that the electricity generated completely covers the company's own needs and that surpluses of 50kWh could be fed into the grid is, of course, due to further energy-saving measures. For example, a good decade ago Pelger reduced the number of light fixtures indoors and outdoors and gradually switched to economical LED technology. Electric and hybrid vehicles are also much more economical and environmentally friendly. In the production halls, the company therefore relies entirely on forklifts and industrial vehicles with electric drives, and its own fleet also includes one fully electric and one hybrid vehicle.  
 
Let's take a look at the core business of Pelger GmbH: This is located in the processing of stainless steel and other steels into high-quality wire mesh for industrial applications. The development of the mesh structures and the subsequent shaping is always order-related, as the requirements, for example from the food industry, are very individual. The fabric belts are manufactured in stages: In a first step, the steel wire is profiled by machine. Subsequently, the individual profile strands are joined by hand to form complete belts and wire belts and then finished.  
In order to work as energy-efficiently as possible here as well, workflows and production processes are continuously optimized in order to reduce machine downtimes, which occur, for example, when switching to different fabric types, to an absolute minimum. As a result, the already very modern and energy-saving machines are exploited to the fullest in terms of their production and energy efficiency. Pelger also obtains all of its raw materials from the local Ruhr region and the surrounding European area, while scraps and offcuts are returned to the cycle and melted down by external partners, for example, or fed to other metal producers.  
 
The Pelger example shows one thing above all to the metalworking sector in particular, but also to industry in general: ecological and economic management are not mutually exclusive. A policy of small but continuous steps allows a transformation toward greater sustainability without losing sight of economic requirements, and even significantly improving them in the long term. Investments in renewable energies, for example, pay for themselves in no time at all, especially in light of energy policy crises such as the Ukraine war, and ultimately lead to greater independence, secure and, above all, sustainable energy supplies. One can be curious and follow which steps towards more sustainability Pelger GmbH will still take in the coming years.