Situation

MCA has a total surface area of 83.4 ha. Covered surfaces represent 63.3 ha. Approximately 24.6 ha is occupied by buildings.  The MCA plant is visible from the N49 main road, the D405 departmental road up to the Hautes guides crossroads, and the D136 departmental road.  The nearest individual dwellings are roughly 100 m west of the site.  Numerous industrial and commercial businesses are located in close proximity to the site.

First Iso 14001 certification earned in 1999.

ISO 14001 certification was renewed in March 2002, in 2005, and in 2008.

The site gained the Highly Protected Risk (HPR) label in 1996, and scored 20 out of 20 in 2007.  

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Water consumption

The Maubeuge plant has been using a stormwater recycling system since October 1999. This system supplies water to the industrial processes, generating a saving of 123 012 m3 of drinking water in 2007. The installation of water softeners on the cooling towers, and numerous continuous progress actions in the workshops have reduced water consumption from 4.0 m3/vehicle in 1997 to 1.8 m3/vehicle in 2007.

The plant has reduced its water consumption per vehicle by 55% in 10 years.

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Water-borne effluents

Several years ago the plant decided to bring all the parameters under control.  Daily flows of Suspended Solids (SS) and Organic Matter (OM) discharged into the environment decreased by more than 70% between 1997 and 2007, even though vehicle output remained comparable.

Since 2003, the products used in the electrocoating surface treatment process have been replaced by lead-free products.

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SO2 and greenhouse gas emissions

MCA uses a gas-fired boiler system whose emissions contain very low quantities of SO2. The plant has reduced its SO2 emissions by 32% since 1999.

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Volatile organic compounds emissions from paint process

The plant has reduced its emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by more than 40% per vehicle since 1997. The plant has introduced action plans across the entire vehicle painting process:

• air treatment and incineration of booth air,
• increased application efficiency by the robots,
• improvement of used solvent recovery,
• colour batches.
  

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Waste

The plant reduced its production of ordinary industrial waste (OIW) and hazardous industrial waste (HIW) by 20% between 1997 and 2007 by:

• using durable packaging,
• carrying out optimized at-source sorting, 
• recycling supplier waste,
• raising the awareness of MCA staff and suppliers.
  

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Energy

On-site energy expenditure has  gradually been reduced through improved lighting, lower temperatures and lower humidity in the paint booths, campaigns to detect and repair compressed air leaks, and the use of a building automation system. 

Consumption has also been reduced through efforts to change individual behaviour.  Staff are encouraged, for example, to close doors, turn lights off when production buildings are not in use, and take part in a competition to put forward energy-saving suggestions.

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Highlights

 

 Pedro Chaverra, Head of Environment:

"Our site has had a stormwater treatment plant since 1999. We use stormwater in the painting process. We used more stormwater than ever before in 2007. A full 34% of the water used at the site is stormwater. Concerning the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we implemented an action plan with our service providers that has allowed us to optimize solvent use and better recover used solvents. We also installed a new air treatment system in 2007 that will be fully operational in 2008. And as part of our soil protection policy, we have sealed the paint pits used in the paint process."