Zero Waste SA Industry Program

New Castalloy has adopted a pragmatic business approach to sustainability. Typically, unless payback can be achieved within two years, we won’t proceed with an initiative. It drives us to be innovative in implementing solutions. It’s an approach that proves sustainability does pay.

Michael Tamasi Managing Director New Castalloy

New Castalloy is a high achiever in the area of environmental responsibility – a statement that would have been unthinkable just five years ago.

From 2004 to 2006 the wheel producer was at serious risk of being closed down because of an eco-performance that was well below standard.

It was in dispute with its neighbours and regulatory authorities because of excessive noise and odour levels. The foundry was one of the State’s top 10 highest water users and its approach to waste management was below par.

This all changed with new owners Harley- Davidson and a fundamental change in attitude towards sustainability. In 2007 New Castalloy signed up to the Zero Waste SA Industry Program and began the process of reducing its environmental footprint.

It has succeeded on many levels. Not only has New Castalloy achieved ISO 14001 environmental certification, but in 2009 it became the first company in the State to be awarded an Environment Protection Authority Sustainability Licence.

This new level of recognition is given for excellence in environmental compliance and sustainability, and for engaging with the local community and other stakeholders.

Along the way, New Castalloy has been awarded the Clean Air Society award, the West Torrens Council Water Saving award and it was a finalist in the SAI Global Systems Excellence Awards.

Rather than environmental issues being seen as a nuisance and distraction to core business, New Castalloy is now proud of its performance. Greater sustainability is considered a competitive advantage and a way to improve its bottom line.

Transformation in sustainable performance

Nash Rodrigues, Engineering and Environmental Manager at New Castalloy

new castal loymelting boundaries, casting innovation

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TEAM EFFORTNew Castalloy’s sustainability program is a team effort that is supported at all levels of the organisation from the Managing Director to the shop floor.

Three sub-committees have been established to drive improvement in water, energy and waste and these are headed by “green champions” – people in senior positions with real passion for ensuring the company achieves its environmental targets.

The groups meet every two weeks to consider new ideas and evaluate progress.

Sustainability objectivesDevelop a culture of sustainability that saves money, protects the environment and transforms the company into a respected neighbour.

Outcomes• rapid turnaround in environmental

performance

• major cost savings from energy, water and waste reduction initiatives

• extensive employee support

• effective community consultation

• working in partnership with government agencies

• sustainability now part of core business continuous improvement

Zero Waste SA support• waste and resource assessment

• support for resource efficiency plan

• advice on sustainability initiatives

• development of a case study

Annual cost reductions

2009 – $536,749

• waste disposal costs reduced 37% ($133,749)

• electricity costs reduced 20% ($326,000)

• gas costs reduced 7% ($77,000)

2010 – $283,068

• electricity reduced by 1.562 million kWh (15%) saving $156,042

• gas reduced by 9958 Gj (7%) saving $51,838

• waste to landfill reduced by 1010 tonnes (56%) and liquid waste by 117,000 litres (19%) for total savings of $75,188

• water efficiency per kilogram cast improved from 16.19 L to 12.55 L

Waste reduction strategyAs a result of the new culture of sustainability at New Castalloy, the waste hierarchy* is applied to all waste streams, with the ultimate goal of achieving a zero waste operation.

Total solid waste to landfill has been reduced by 1000 tonnes, down from 1800 tonnes in 2009 to 800 tonnes in 2010.

Recycling bins are now located throughout the plant for a wide range of waste streams, including paper and cardboard, wood, plastic, sand, fluorescent lights, batteries and printer cartridges.

Adoption of the 6S Framework and focus on quality has cut the product rework rate by about 4% at machining and 5% at painting.

Improved production systems are also reducing waste and saving New Castalloy time and money.

The simple measure of storing most wastes in a consolidated undercover area has cut waste disposal costs and provided an opportunity for reuse and recycling of coolant.

Previously the contaminated runoff from machining swarf (metal shavings) was collected in underground tanks and had to be pumped out by a waste contractor. Now more than 15,000 litres of coolant per year is filtered and reused.

* The waste management hierarchy is a nationally and internationally accepted guide for prioritising waste management practices with the objective of achieving optimal environmental outcomes. It sets out the preferred order of waste management practices, from most preferred (waste avoidance) to least preferred (waste disposal).

The amount of water used for casting wheels has been significantly reduced during the manufacturing process

Systems for improvementAchieving such a dramatic turnaround in environmental performance has involved action on many fronts.

Early involvement in the Industry Program provided New Castalloy with an accurate assessment of its environmental impact and enabled the development of a resource efficiency plan jointly funded by Zero Waste SA.

The company also adopted the 6S Framework, an extension of the “good housekeeping” 5S system which focuses on lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. Sustainability is a major element of 6S with a strong emphasis on more efficient production systems and less rejects and reworks.

Another key feature of the company’s new green direction was the introduction of the accredited Environmental Management System ISO 14001 and an Aspect-Impact Register.

“The Aspect-Impact Register is very detailed and allows us to monitor the impact of every single aspect within each process,” says Nash Rodrigues, Engineering and Environmental Manager.

“We closely monitor energy and water use through sub-metering and waste disposal through our waste monitoring system. This helps us to quickly identify what is normal or abnormal and also track the impact of any improvements we have implemented.”

All 200 employees on site have been trained in using the environmental system. There is a fair degree of integration between the environment, safety and quality systems. Finally, to ensure New Castalloy complies with all State and Federal Government environment regulations, the company subscribes to EnviroLaw Online which provides regular updates on new or changing legislation.

Reducing noise and odourEarly priorities for New Castalloy were reductions in odour and noise – serious community issues that were threatening the future of the plant.

Noise

To comply with environmental noise standards, the company relocated the chrome plating plant, some pre-machining operations and a furnace away from the boundary towards the centre of the plant, adding noise attenuators to equipment and eliminating some noisy operations via process re-engineering.

It also introduced a series of standard measures such as closing doors and monitoring noise levels at the boundaries.

Other initiatives included:

• installing double skinned panels under workshop eaves

• switching to low noise hammers and air nozzles

• erecting an acoustic barrier

• eliminating noisy hollow casting operations.

As a result of the improvements, noise levels dropped to within acceptable limits from 63 to 58 decibels during the day and from 61.5 to 50 decibels at night.

Odour

New Castalloy’s odour footprint has contracted dramatically from an area that covered nearby suburbs to be contained virtually within the plant site.

Initiatives included:

• switching from alcohol to water-based core paint

• eliminating fumes created during casting

• stopping the use of sulphur dioxide as a catalyst for core making

• stopping emissions in 58 stacks

• consolidating 28 of the stacks into three and raising the height to 18 metres.

The initiatives have had a major impact on ground level odour concentration, down from 40 odour units to less than two.

Chemical Engineer Frank Massalsky inspects recyclable materials in New Castalloy’s undercover waste storage area

Nash Rodrigues Engineering and Environmental Manager New Castalloy 8292 5550 nash.rodrigues@newcastalloy.com.au

Tawni Jones Manager, Industry Program 8204 1706 tawni.jones@zerowaste.sa.gov.au

Andrew Hutcheon

Principal Adviser, Industry Sustainability 8204 8143 andrew.hutcheon@zerowaste.sa.gov.au

www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au Level 8, Statewide House 99 Gawler Place Adelaide SA 5001

PublishedApril2012•FIS91392

New CastalloyNew Castalloy has 200 employees in Adelaide where it produces wheels for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Since 2006, it has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson Inc., the world’s second largest motorcycle manufacturer and a Fortune 500 company.

On 7 December 2011 Harley-Davidson Inc. announced it will cease operations at New Castalloy, Adelaide, by mid-2013 and source components through other existing suppliers.

www.newcastalloy.com.au

Zero Waste SA A South Australian Government agency that advances improved waste management policies and the development of resource recovery and recycling. The Zero Waste SA Industry Program advises and supports companies to achieve sustainability goals in waste, water and energy.

www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au

Dramatic reduction in water usageBefore embarking on its environmental program, New Castalloy was among South Australia’s top water users.

It has since implemented several programs to reduce usage by 48% from 109,351 kL in 2005-06 to 57,000 kL in 2009-10.

Major initiatives include:

• Redesigning the rinse tanks and introducing automated sprays and recycling of water in the chrome plating plant. This was carried out at the same time the plant was relocated as part of the noise reduction program.

• Reconfiguring the machine shop with a more efficient system for pressure testing the wheels to prevent water being contaminated with coolant residue.

• A waste water re-use project for rinsing wheels in the chrome plant. Solids are removed and the water is neutralised so it can be reused to provide a virtual closed-loop system.

The latest initiatives have helped New Castalloy reduce water usage from 16.19 litres per kilogram cast in 2009 to 12.55 litres during 2010.

Energy saving initiativesLowering energy usage is an ongoing part of New Castalloy’s continuous improvement program.

The reduced energy usage has cut carbon emissions by 2994 tons in 2010 compared to 2009.

Initiatives include using a more energy efficient melting furnace, halving the number of high bay lights and managing them with day-light switches. In addition, a well documented shutdown and restart procedure for all plant at production breaks, has reduced total electricity usage.

Keeping neighbours informedAn improved relationship with residential neighbours has been one of the highlights of New Castalloy’s sustainability program.

At the beginning of 2006 the company was fielding up to 13 complaints a month because of noise and odour. In the past three years New Castalloy has received just one complaint.

As part of its community consultation program New Castalloy holds a community consultation forum and annual public meeting to keep people up-to-date.