U.K. – The wood-based panel board manufacturer Egger, was awarded in the UK the ISO 50001:2011 standard for its Energy Management System at its Hexham and Barony sites.

Egger is the first board manufacturer in the UK to achieve this certification which accredits it internationally as a company that meets stringent parameters, that are externally audited, and demonstrates its continuing commitment to the efficient use of energy to further reduce the environmental impact of its activities.

Paul Turner, environmental, health & safety manager at Egger, explains: “As a chipboard manufacturer, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, our processes are energy intensive. Gaining the ISO 50001 standard is therefore a major accomplishment for a company such as ours.”

Egger is the largest chipboard manufacturer in the UK, producing over a million m3 per year. Since 2006, it has invested over £200m at its Hexham site and in the last five years alone has ploughed more than £90 million into highly energy-efficient plant machinery and processes to reduce the plant’s consumption of fossil fuels. This has included a new glue-making plant, a fifth lamination line and the replacement of a second impregnation line, as well as new technology on the chipboard line which enables the company to increase its efficiency and production.

The ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management System is an internationally recognized standard that provides a framework for organizations to control, maintain and improve an energy management system. The standard aims to ensure organizations will continually improve their energy performance and promote energy-management best-practice, initiate high levels of energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and assist in evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies.