At ITM, we strive to be stewards of the environment across our operations, from the product’s design to the pursuit
of
efficiency in our manufacturing process. ITM continuously seeks to reduce its impact on the environment by adopting
eco-design principles.
In 2002 ITM introduced a biodegradable lubricant in big and medium size rollers. In case of any leakage in the field,
this lubricant does not permanently contaminate the soil due to the biodegradable characteristic.
In 2004 ITM started to introduce micro alloyed steel in shaft production for idlers and rollers. The chemical
composition of this steel guarantees the required mechanical properties without the traditional Quench & Temper
Process.
This translates in significantly lower consumption of energy and lower emission of gas. ITM Engineering Team is
currently studying to further expand this steel composition to other components and to identify new micro alloyed
steel
with higher properties to completely avoid heat treatment processes.
In the Brazilian plant, ITM utilizes direct quenching process on most of the components. This allows eliminating one
heating step and the consequent reduction in use of energy and relevant emission of gas.
Since 2020, ITM has joined to IMDS® (International Material Data System). This database allows the traceability of
materials used by the automotive industry.
ITM is continuously replacing small casting designs by forging designs. This change process is mainly driven by
specific
areas such as China, where the negative environmental impact of casting processes is significant higher than on
forging
processes.
For paver and milling frames, ITM is mainly applying track shoes with so-called “Bolt on Pads”. This kind of rubber
and
polyurethane coated track shoes allow the reuse of the main steel plate and reduce the steel waste by more than 80%.
Additionally, ITM has reduced as much lead as possible in its bearings.
ITM’s Mission is to extend the life of the undercarriage product performing in extreme severe conditions. This is
pursued by continuously developing the design of the product and supporting its customers for an efficient
maintenance
procedure. ITM, in its mining centers located in the main mining areas, services the product by providing reworking
assistance of the undercarriage parts as, pin & bushing turn, shoes regrouser and frame rebuilding.
End Waste and Circular Economy
Our product is made almost entirely of steel. Steel is a material that can be repeatedly recycled. At the end of
its
life, our product is melted in a steel mill and regenerated as raw material again.
The ITM casting plant in Spain uses “End waste” of the automotive sector as raw material.
Our forging plants in Italy and in Brazil, as a result of their hot forging process, produce scrap that is resold
to
the
steel mill to be transformed in steel. These plants buy from the steel mill the steel as raw material.
Therefore,
ITM
operates in a “circular economy”.
Water Recycled and Reused
The Potenza plant in Italy uses recycled water. The water discharged by the plant is supplied to a public purifier,
which after purifying it, supplies the water back to the plant.
Sustainable Energy Generation
ITM is in process of certifying its Energy Management System according to the ISO 50001: 2018 standard.
Emission and Carbon Footprint
In the Chinese ITM plant, painting process is water based, so the impact of solvent is almost zero and the use of
energy
is lower than a traditional solvent-based process. This painting technology not only eliminates emissions of
volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), but also reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
