Sustainable business practices contribute to reducing the effects of climate change and securing a livable future for future generations. KASTO is aware of its responsibility and is pursuing several strategies: minimising CO2 emissions and resource consumption with energy-efficient, durable products, and converting its own company to environmentally friendly processes.
Sustainability means achieving a balance between ecological, social, and economic development – meeting the needs of society without jeopardizing the opportunities of future generations. KASTO relies on resource-saving technologies that reduce and eliminate negative environmental impacts thanks to sustainable production. And the specialist for saws, storage, and material handling is also driving forward the green process chain on the product side.
For example, the agenda included the re-certification of the energy management system according to ISO 50001. This ensures that the company does not waste energy. “Over the past few years, we have invested a seven-figure sum in efficient technology, heat recovery, and solvent-free painting,” explains Sönke Krebber, member of the management team at KASTO. “The successful recertification demonstrated that this was the right approach.”
Two of the building blocks were replacing the oil heating with efficient infrared heaters and converting the lighting to LEDs. KASTO also replaced heat pumps and compressors with more economical models. In intralogistics, the old chargers for industrial trucks had to make way for modern, highly efficient units. KASTO also converted its telephone system and data center to ecological operation. The company now uses the waste heat from its compressors to heat its common areas. Between 2016 and 2022, these measures saved a total of 2.3 million kilowatt hours of energy. This corresponds to a reduction of 22 percent. For about ten years, KASTO has been reducing its CO2 emissions year after year, including from business trips, by minimising travel and using virtual meetings instead.
Environmentally friendly processes:
In addition to increasing efficiency, KASTO is committed to environmentally friendly processes. One example is the conversion of the paint shop from liquid paint to powder coating. Thanks to this new process, the sawing and storage specialist can completely eliminate the use of solvents.
The use of digital twins also saves resources. With the help of virtual commissioning (VIBN), the company simulates machines and systems before they actually go into operation. This is based on the 3D design data, which also includes actuators and sensors. This allows potential problems to be resolved early on, implementation is smooth, and time-consuming rework at the customer’s site is eliminated. Another advantage: users can train their specialists in the operation of the new machine before the system goes into operation. This saves not only energy but also time.
Repairability and Retrofit
And something else is crucial for greater sustainability: the longevity of the machines. If users use saws, storage systems, and handling technologies for many years, this saves resources for production and disposal. Reduced material and energy consumption lowers environmental impact, CO2 emissions , and waste volumes. In its in-house repair workshop, KASTO even makes saws that have been in operation for more than 20 years fit for the future. An impressive example is one of the oldest band saws still in operation, dating back to the 1980s and operating every working day for over 40 years at a metal dealer. Experts modernize warehouses with a retrofit directly at the customer’s site. Afterward, the machines are brought back up to date with the latest technology and operational for the next ten to 20 years.
KASTO also offers an environmentally friendly solution for new installations of UNICOMPACT automatic bar storage systems. With the mobile KASTOweld cassette production system, the company produces the voluminous load carriers directly on site with robot support, in high, certified quality. This eliminates many truck transports that would otherwise be necessary due to the protruding cassettes. The production system is usually ready for operation within two weeks. It welds the cassettes from provided raw material and coats them with an anti-corrosion oil. “When KASTO presented this solution to us, we were thrilled. This saved us considerable freight costs and reduced our environmental impact by around 23 tons of CO2 . Furthermore, we didn’t have to worry about storing the cassettes ourselves and were able to use the warehouse after a short time,” reports Felix Kern, Assistant to the Management at VBE. As a steel trading partner in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, Vereinigte Baustoff- und Eisen-GmbH (VBE) offers a comprehensive range of bars and sheets, structural steel, pipes, structural elements, and reinforcing steel.
Reduce and recover energy
Another KASTO tool that supports users on their path to sustainability is KASTOenergysave. This allows them to save up to 40 percent energy and up to 50 percent on the connected load of storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) without having to compromise on performance. The system converts excess kinetic energy into electricity and temporarily stores it. The drives in the storage system can then be efficiently supplied with energy when needed. This helps companies lower their operating and investment costs and reduce their CO2 emissions .
Metalworking companies are also environmentally friendly with KASTOoptisaw. The straight and miter cut optimization ensures ideal use of long goods, significantly reducing waste and requiring less material to be moved. The optimization tool is fully integrated into the KASTOlogic warehouse management system (WMS).
KASTOlogic enables fully automated storage, sawing, and material handling. The focus here is not only on process reliability and speed, but also on low energy consumption. Algorithms calculate energy requirements and reduce them by controlling warehouse components as needed. For example, the software perfects the paths of the storage and retrieval machine (SRM) and thus the travel strategy.
KASTO’s sawing technology is also energy-optimized: The drives meet energy efficiency class IE3. Frequency controllers control the motor speed, adapting the speed variably to different applications and thus enabling savings.
Competitive advantages through cost savings
With its sustainable solutions that focus on energy recovery, repairability and resource efficiency, KASTO shows how both ecological and economic advantages can be achieved. With efficient systems, users lower their operating costs and reduce their CO2 footprint. The optimized use of raw materials minimises the amount of waste and simultaneously reduces environmental impact. KASTO also plays a pioneering role within its own company, continuously revising its processes and actively committed to greater sustainability.
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