Prioritising sustainability in our business

At HSM, we recognise the importance of running our business sustainably, and prioritise a range of environmental efficiencies to ensure we keep our carbon footprint to a minimum.

We undertake a variety of activities to reduce our emissions including utilising energy-efficient lighting and equipment throughout our facility to reduce our energy consumption, grouping deliveries together to reduce mileage, and encouraging staff to car share and cycle to work where possible.

Packaging

We reuse and recycle a lot of our packaging to keep wastage to a minimum. We have dedicated transport cases for our regular deliveries, meaning the amount of disposable packaging used is greatly reduced. We also use paper products instead of plastics wherever possible to ensure a higher level of recycling as paper is a lot easier to recycle than hard plastics.

Nesting

We nest our sheet metal to ensure that we have as little scrap as possible. In sheet metal fabrication, ‘nesting’ refers to the process of arranging multiple parts to be cut from a sheet of metal in the most efficient way possible.

Essentially, it’s like solving a jigsaw puzzle; you ‘nest’ the shapes of your required parts on the sheet so that you use as much of the material as possible, ensuring minimal waste.

We utilise specialist software which automatically calculates the best layout of parts based on sheet size, part shapes and sizes, the cutting method being used, and the material’s grain direction.

Nesting is important because it:

• Reduces material waste, saving money.
• Can reduce cutting time and improve efficiency.
• Optimises production on CNC machines.
• Makes the process more sustainable by using fewer raw materials.

Hazardous waste paint

At HSM, we provide a range of metal coating services including wet spraying, powder coating and stove enamelling. These processes result in waste paint which is classed as hazardous and must be disposed of correctly. We utilise a specialist waste carrier to dispose of all our waste paint safely and in line with UK regulations, avoiding any negative environmental effects.

Nitrogen generation

Nitrogen generation is the process of producing nitrogen gas on-site from the air, rather than buying and transporting it in cylinders or tanks. At HSM, we generate the nitrogen gas that we need on-site utilising an energy-efficient machine that we have recently invested in. This cuts down on weekly deliveries and unnecessary emissions.

Earth’s atmosphere is around 78% nitrogen, so the generation process involves separating the nitrogen from the other gases in the air - namely oxygen, carbon monoxide and water vapour.

Nitrogen generation not only negates the need for deliveries of cylinders which cuts emissions and costs, but it also provides a continuous supply on demand, allows you to control the level of nitrogen purity required, and lowers the risk of handling high-pressure cylinders.

Keeping work in-house

We keep almost all of our work in-house, limiting the need for subcontractors and unnecessary transport. This is great as it not only enables us to keep emissions to a minimum, but it also gives us greater control over our projects, providing our clients with peace of mind when it comes to quality assurance and timescales being met.

If you’d like to know more about how we work sustainably, please get in touch. Explore our services to discover how we can help you with your next sheet metal fabrication requirement…

 

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