GERMANY – Furniture Fittings specialist Hettich has already embarked on the forward looking journey towards "green steel": in a pilot project this summer, the company sourced German produced cold-rolled coils with a reduced carbon footprint for components in its Sensys range of concealed hinges.

Initial quality tests proved positive, this being an encouraging result for Hettich. In the long term, the aim is to work with customers and partners to develop and manufacture not only low carbon emission products but also products that are completely carbon neutral.

The pilot project at Hettich was initially limited to one specific hinge component because larger quantities of the low carbon emission steel are not available at short notice, and the surcharge per tonne is still fairly substantial.

At the moment, there is no way either to estimate whether and the extent to which it will be possible to make products with a reduced carbon footprint on a volume production basis.

This will, at all events, involve far reaching changes in supply and production. Nonetheless, Hettich is determined to continue in this direction, Managing Director Uwe Kreidel is keen to stress: "The pilot project was only an initial major step on the way to processing low carbon emission steel in volume production. We are continuing to work on new solutions and are looking forward to working with interested customers with whom we can even develop carbon neutral products in the long term across the stepping stone of making low carbon emission products. It's a future opportunity we definitely want to take on board."