Ervin Europe has announced a series of innovative actions to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030, 15 years ahead of the German government target. Highlights of the Ervin Sustainability Programme include switching from natural gas to hydrogen fuel, generating electricity from renewable resources and supporting Ervin’s customers by reducing their Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.

While sustainability has become a popular subject for many organisations in recent years, at Ervin, sustainability is not a new idea. The company started out in the early 1920s with an innovative concept for recycling scrap steel and using it in a way that would improve productivity, reduce resource consumption and reduce waste in its customers’ blasting processes, creating a circular economy.  Throughout 100+ years of family ownership, Ervin has consistently pursued a sustainable approach to sales, manufacturing and growth.

Dr. Wolfgang Assmann, Managing Director of Ervin Europe, explains, “When our founder, John F. Ervin, invented the process of making abrasives from scrap steel, he was driven by the desire to do more with less. That philosophy has been passed down through his descendants to the family members who lead the company today. Family ownership has given Ervin the freedom to make the right decisions for the long term and brings a commitment to the future, meaning that our sales, manufacturing and growth plans have been and always will be sustainable. The actions we have already taken and our future commitments, including the switch from natural gas to hydrogen fuel, mean that we can help our customers improve their sustainability by reducing their Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.” 

In 2014, Ervin opened a new cast steel abrasive manufacturing facility in Glaubitz, Germany. The location of this modern, efficient plant in central Europe helps minimise logistics costs and also brings good opportunities for rail and water transport with the potential to reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions.  Ervin is increasingly using local warehousing to reduce transportation associated with our products.

Ten years after opening, René Spandler, Plant Manager, is overseeing a number of exciting initiatives as he explains, “Ervin uses electric arc furnaces to melt the scrap steel, which results in a much lower carbon emission level than the manufacture of crude steel, however, we have been actively exploring opportunities to utilise alternative renewable and greener energy sources. A new wind turbine is now supplying renewable electricity to our facility and will reduce our Scope 2 carbon emissions by 20%. We are already using oxygen to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Ervin is also proud to be a partner in the recently announced Central Germany Hydrogen Network, which will enable us to replace natural gas with hydrogen from 2027 and achieve a significant reduction in Scope 1 emissions as hydrogen combustion does not emit CO2. Compared with 2023, our manufacturing carbon emissions will reduce by 80% within 4 years.”

Ervin’s production process uses over 98% recyclable raw materials to produce the highest possible quality steel shot and grit abrasives, to provide Ervin’s customers with the best possible results, time after time. Paul Abram, Technical Director, says, “The combination of high durability and high transmitted energy of our shot and grit means that Ervin customers use less abrasive per work piece and generate less waste, improving the sustainability of their blasting operations.” Thanks to this approach, Ervin is able to work with customers to reduce Scope 2 emissions from their blasting processes.

"Landfill waste is an issue of increasing concern across Europe, with governments introducing new legislation and financial penalties to incentivise companies to reduce their waste. Comparative testing consistently shows that Ervin abrasives reduce the input material from blasting by at least 10%. In return, it also reduces the waste by 10%, so Ervin customers enjoy the twin benefits of reduced environmental impact and cost savings because of the extended productive life of our steel and stainless steel abrasives. Our manufacturing plants exercise tight control over the size, hardness and microstructure of our shot and grit abrasives, which means they deliver greater transmitted energy when they impact the work piece. This converts into greater cleaning performance and reduced costs for our customers, including reduced energy consumption”, adds Paul.

It’s not just product quality that can bring benefits to customers, it’s also service and support. Paul Abram continues, “Our sales and technical teams regularly visit customers, and utilise the Ervin Test Centre to work with their operations teams, to optimise machine settings and abrasive selection to maximise their productivity and reduce blasting costs. Many customers who have switched to Ervin abrasives report a reduction in rework, which significantly reduces costs and maintains close working relationships with their customers.”

Ervin has recently launched a new mineral degreasing additive, Amapure. Oil or grease from work pieces often transfers to the abrasive operating mix, which can result in premature discard of otherwise usable abrasive. Amapure absorbs the oil and grease, decontaminating the operating mix, extending the life of the abrasive, work pieces and equipment whilst reducing waste and costs for the customer.

Way ahead of modern packaging trends, Ervin has been the only steel abrasive manufacturer to supply its standard material in recyclable paper bags since the 1960s and its manufacturing plants work closely with leading packaging suppliers to reduce or eliminate non-recyclable packaging materials. Across the Ervin Europe business, there are many other initiatives to find more sustainable ways of working, from electric vehicle (EV) company cars to increased use of video conferencing and an ongoing programme of information digitisation to reduce paper use, improve accuracy and make better use of valuable resources. Ervin continues to invest heavily in its people and communities.

As Wolfgang says: “We are entering the second century of our company’s history and our commitment to sustainability remains as strong as ever; through the action programme we have set out and our ongoing search for further opportunities to improve, we will achieve a net zero carbon emissions position by 2030, 15 years ahead of the German government’s target. We feel confident that John F. Ervin would be very proud of what we have achieved and excited by our plans for the future.”

For Information: 

Ervin Germany GmbH

Rudower Chaussee 48

12489 Berlin, Germany

Tel. +49.30.400 37846

E-mail: info@ervin.eu

www.ervin.eu