In 2017 a new production building for surface coating - the single most expensive investment in the company's history - was put into operation. With the construction of this new electroplating shop a number of new facilities as well as safety precautions have been installed, all of which of course meet the European standards of the best available technology.
Because environmentally harmful chemicals are used during the electroplating process, along with plant requiring approval, the new building falls under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). The approval procedure is particularly demanding as all potential environmental effects must be evaluated.
The safety precautions include a fire alarm system with smoke detectors in the ventilation systems. In addition, the surface technology is protected against accidents on several levels with the derivation and interception of liquids escaping from electroplating baths being a top priority.
The production process means a large proportion of the metals used end up as oil-contaminated chips. However, two chip and oil processing systems co-developed by Rosenberger enable cleaned oil to be pumped back into the cooling system and the metal chips - now containing less than three percent oil - to be returned to the materials supplier almost sorted by type.
This ensures optimal recycling of materials and only small quantities of new raw materials needing to be purchased.
A special feature is the highly efficient biomass heating plant. About one fifth of the total energy required is generated by the heating plant using renewable energy sources - in this case local wood chips.
Rosenberger can cover a large part of its heating needs through the biomass heating plant. To meet the same energy demand with oil fuel about 420,000 liters would be necessary. Rosenberger’s initiative therefore translates into an emission saving of approx. 1,121 tons of CO2.
Various systems are used to recover heat from exhaust air, compressors and oil used for cooling purposes. The heat obtained is used to heat buildings and therefore contributes to savings on oil fuel.
The new Energy Center has two new air compressors including a heat recovery system and since 2008 about 4,200 MWh of heat energy has been recovered. Accordingly, more than 1,000 tons of CO2 have been saved.
In 2020 Rosenberger installed a photovoltaic system with 3,000 modules and 935 kWp for its own supply. The system supplies the company with approx. 800,000 kWh of solar electricity per year, thus saving almost 470 tons of CO2 per year. At the same time emissions such as lead, nitrogen oxide or mercury are reduced.
A special feature of the photovoltaic system is the zero feed-in whereby Rosenberger uses 100% of the electricity produced by the solar plant. This does not feed into the public grid and therefore dispenses with the state buyback price.