A team from HPP recently visited Kronospan's UK manufacturing base near Wrexham, where a major investment programme has boosted capacity, efficiencies, product ranges and environmental controls.
Kronospan manufactures products at more than 40 sites around the world. Following the upgrades, its UK base at Chirk is now producing brand new ranges of Kronodesign worktops that were first launched in Europe last year.
HPP has worked with Kronospan for nearly 30 years. We recently announced an exciting new distribution deal for Kronodesign worktops and it was great for our team to see the developments at Chirk. Area Sales Managers Chris Essex, Shankar Das and Stephen Bayes were joined by marketing manager Dan Mounsey for the visit.
Kronospan is now generating its own electricity at Chirk. This is more efficient than using power from the national network and the local supply was not suited for Kronospan's needs. So, Kronospan has turned a challenge into an opportunity.
A new conveyor belt system now carries materials around the Kronospan site, rather than using vehicles burning fossil fuels. Manufacturing equipment is also much cleaner with less emissions, dust and noise. And a rolling programme of environmental improvements is planned every year.
Kronospan has forest plantations in the area, providing important local supplies, while some timber is transported to Chirk by train from elsewhere in the UK.
We were impressed and encouraged to see the developments at Kronospan and it's great to see KBB businesses playing a leading role in improving environmental sustainability. We've also implemented a range of sustainability improvements at HPP in recent years in recognition of the importance of these issues:
- Factory heat-recycling in key manufacturing processes
- Installation of solar panels and bio-mass heat generation
- Better waste-sorting and recycling
- Increased use of recyclable packaging
- Adoption of LED lighting across the business
- Prompt repairing of machinery and ongoing maintenance programmes to optimise equipment use and cut waste energy inefficiencies
Consumers are wanting to know more about KBB supply chains and raw materials, so it makes sense for businesses and brands to be clear with their environment responsibilities, thereby putting themselves in really strong position to attract eco-conscious customers.
Our range of Kronospan's new ranges of Kronodesign worktops offer fantastic choices of colours and décors. These are really on-trend with décors ranging from classic to contemporary including woodgrains, stones, marbles, steels and concretes. Kronodesign worktops are extremely robust and slimmer 12mm worktops are also available.
