Re-evaluation of waste and the water cycle: how the world of industry is trying to reinvent itself

Is it really possible to work in industry while having environmental values? And how does this translate into the production process and user experience? This is what I tried to find out when I met an employee of a flagship of the French industry, a member of La French Fab, owned by Bpifrance.

Before going further, it is worth explaining what La French Fab is: launched in 2017 by Bruno Lemaire, The French Fab embodies companies, economic actors, institutions and industrial sites located in France who recognize themselves in the desire to develop French industry. Bpifrance provides assistance to the French industry through a massive business support strategy, in order to allow them to gain in attractiveness and competitiveness.

Cristel rightly benefited from this investment plan. Despite having great ambitions, the family SME that has existed since 1826 intends to preserve its values ​​of the past, or to continue to do so local production in Franceand produce by renting the least possible impact on the environment. Amanda, an apprentice for two years in the company, took the interview game to help me see things more clearly.

How the industrial sector manages to seduce the new generations

Amanda told me from the beginning that the ecological criterion was not what seduced her when she turned to Cristel to do her work-study program, it was rather the industrial sector that attracted him. The student had not had the opportunity to discover the world of industry through her past experiences. It is the need to discover a new sphere and to contribute who finished convincing her, but not only:

The company is conservative in its family values. He is currently part of the third generation of the family staff. Cristel is also a human-sized SME, which has about a hundred employees, and has been built on very specific principles. Cristel has been committed to strong environmental values ​​for over 30 years. It contributes on a daily basis to improve the image of its brand and to give importance and weight to approaching different customers.

Amanda

Amanda does it quality management studies at the University of Strasbourg and has been working for Cristel for two years now. During her freshman year, she was attacked ashealth, safety and environment apprentice. Now she is a quality apprentice:

The quality system is the structure that allows you to control and guarantee the satisfaction of the company’s goods and various services. For this reason, I am responsible for the structuring of the documentary base or of all the procedures and operating methods that will come from behind to dispose, but also to certify the conformity of the products. For example, I take care of structuring the control part of the receipt of the product. Another of my tasks is to argue and design a basis for the selection of suppliers so that you can benefit from an optimal panel of suppliers, which assumes that they are always satisfied.

Amanda

For every assignment she does, Amanda tells me she always has to play in the middle the management’s environmental commitment and compliance with the directives given to it. He illustrates this point thanks to the 5s workcamps, which are workshops regularly organized within Cristel in order toimprove working conditions and optimize exchanges, circulation and flows. These educational and fun workshops involve management, but also staff, and one of their goals is to re-evaluate, improve and ensure this continuous approach to the environment.

How can an actor in the industrial sector make his production more respectful of the planet?

However, Amanda’s speech remains very theoretical, going to the heart of the matter, she gives it to me concrete examples of actions carried out by Cristel that deserve to be relieved. The first thing is its local productionthe headquarters and the production plant are located in the same location:

We have only one site based in Fesches-le-Châtel in the Doubs. This unique localization makes it possible to guarantee an exchange that is always local. If there is ever a second plant that opens, it won’t be overseas. This would not be in line with the history of the company, the preservation of its values ​​depends on the proximity of its production, but also of its staff. Cristel stands out from the lot from this point of view, compared to other companies that relocate their factories. The SME wants to keep this French know-how.

Amanda

The second action raised by Amanda is optimize the use of raw materials throughout the production process. The company tries reduce the waste of raw materials internally, but regularly sorts its waste and recycles it. The staff is always involved in these values ​​and respecting these approacheswhich at the same time improves working conditions.

But this is not the only attention paid to production, Cristel has set up a water recycling cycle for internal processes. She is also worried recovery of thermal energy from the compressors, for example to heat the company and save energy.

The third action in favor of the environment allows buyers to limit their consumption. Cristel has in fact a rebuilding process that can benefit customers if their products are defective or show signs of wear due to use. This ensures a lifetime warranty on various products. If like me you have no idea what rebuilding was like before today, Amanda was kind enough to call it for me:

If a customer himself has caused his product to overheat or has damaged its coating, Cristel takes back his product, studies it and then evaluates the possibility of renewing or replacing the product. So if the coating gets damaged. It will go through the complete cycle of the company to have an optimal final product.

These are only retreads, meaning we have different ranges: entirely stainless steel products and retreaded products. The reconstructed products have a non-stick base, which makes them evolve over the course of their life. If this black non-stick layer is defective, we will replace it completely. For all non-stick bases, the product used is PFOA free certified. So, in fact, it always approaches these environmental values ​​which are the heart of the company.

Amanda

Throughout the life of his articles, SME Cristel is trying to reduce its footprint on the planet as much as possible. Obviously the industrial sector produces to sell, it will always cause consumption. But thanks to processes such as local production, recycling of water and waste and the recovery of defective products, actors try to innovate to improve.

This is one of the priorities of La French Fab, which encourages French producers to move towards ecological solutions to meet the needs of consumers, but also the climate emergency.

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