ISA Tan Tec rewarded for energy efficiency
Germany-based ISA Tan Tec’s tannery in Vietnam has been awarded second prize in the 2010Energy Efficiency Awards. The award was presented on April 20 at the Hannover Messe in Germany.
The company produces its trademark LITE leather at the Vietnam site, which stands for ‘low impact to the environment’. The tannery, which started production in October 2009, was designed to be as efficient as possible while still producing top-quality leathers. The company also challenges suppliers and equipment manufacturers to find new eco-friendly alternatives.
CEO and founder, Thomas Schneider, says: “What you don’t measure you cannot manage. Our monitoring systems allow us to accurately measure the amount of resources used for all types of leather we make. Therefore we can provide our customers with the transparency needed when measuring their products environmental footprint.”
According to the company, the site uses up to 30% less energy compared with many other tanneries. It reuses waste heat, channelling it back to production as well as using a windmill to operate the pumps and solar-thermal energy to heat the industrial water. The Saigon plant is also saving energy by pre-treating wastewater with a purification system using plants in a specially constructed wetland.
