Quality management
As a manufacturer of sun and insect protection systems, erfal continuously attaches great importance to a high degree of technologisation and automation of the production processes in the individual departments, optimised processes and compliance with high quality parameters. Since 2004, the company has been working on the basis of certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001, which, in addition to continuous optimisation of company processes, has also resulted in lower process and complaint costs, high employee motivation and customer satisfaction.
AEO CERTIFICATION
The company was certified as an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) in March 2023 by the main customs office responsible for erfal in Erfurt. This status shows that erfal is a safe business partner for all other exporting and importing companies.
At the same time, the authorisation certifies that erfal meets the extensive requirements with regard to reliability, solvency, previous compliance with the relevant legal provisions as well as the fulfilment of certain safety standards.
Energy management
Since 2016, erfal has been working according to an energy management system certification DIN EN ISO 50001. In this way, erfal commits itself in pushing ahead with a continually improving of the energy-related performances. In detail, this means adopting all measures to reduce the specific energy consumption on a long-term basis and to increase the energy efficiency. The existing requirements are implemented in accordance with the standards and regulations and each individual employee is involved. The focus is on the acquisition of appropriate and energy-efficient products and services, as well as on the notification to suppliers and service providers, that within procurement process the energy efficiency criteria are taken into account during placing an order. The company's energy policy is also subject to a regular examination of topicality and is matched with the set strategic objectives within the framework of a management review.
Facility management
When constructing the new company building complexes in the year 2000, high-quality building materials were used to provide energy saving and heat insulation. The requirements of the valid EnEV were even partially overfilled. In addition, erfal uses state-of-the-art lighting methods, such as controls that depend on the daylight and the use of LED technology. Heating, air-conditioning and ventilation are controlled by a central building control system.
Photovoltaics
The energy political and responsible behavior of erfal finds expressions in the photovoltaic system, which was installed in 2004 on the roofs of the production buildings. This system is characterized by a total area of 2,050 m² and a nominal output of 275 kWP. As a result of this, 2 Mio. kWh of solar energy were produced and 1,150,000 kg of carbon dioxide were avoided until now.
Heating technology
Since January 2012, the production spaces of the company have been heated with self-generated wood chips. In order to process all in-house one-way pallets and wooden packaging, and no longer have to dispose of them as waste, a wooden pallets shredder that was specially developed for this purpose was purchased. This shredder works with an extremely low energy consumption. In a fully automated heating system, which also works according to the latest ecological guidelines, the following burning of the wood chips is carried out. All generated energy is supplied to the company's heating system via a buffer memory facility. The already existing and constantly expanded building control system makes it possible to control the optimum energy yield. This sophisticated system of heat energy generation promises the environmentally friendly and sustainable heating of our premises. The CO2-neutral character accommodates the company's philosophy, which attaches great importance to greenness. In the year 2015 approximately 456,000 kWh natural gas could be saved.
Environmental management
Since 2013, erfal GmbH & Co. KG has been working on the development of an overall concept for establishing an internal environmental management system and for identifying energy-saving potential for raw materials and in the fields of energy, water and waste to protect the environment and to reduce operating costs. In addition, the focus is on the implementation of targeted organizational and technical measures in order to make operations processes more environmentally friendly and, at the same time, more rational and therefore cost-saving.
Sustainability
In addition to the aspects of market economy, ecological and social aspects have played a key role for the large number of decisions to be made every day in the company. In this context, the company erfal attaches great importance to sustainability. The focus is on using our habitat, its raw material resources as well as the ecology system in a way, that also for future generations conditions are provided that guarantee the highest quality of life for the population. In doing so, all efforts that support this objective are regarded as legitimate steps in the right direction. From the company's point of view, it is very important to consider sustainability as an overall process that, in addition to ecological aspects of environmental protection, also includes terms such as health compatibility, high product quality, optimization of technical production processes and social responsibility.
Especially in the composition of the several collections of the erfal range, the components of sustainability play an important role. Almost all of our sun protection products are free of PVC or halogen. In addition, many qualities have been tested for harmful substances and meet the requirements of the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. Furthermore, all current fabric collections have been tested by the association called Verband deutscher Sonnenschutzreiniger eV. On this basis, information on an environmentally friendly cleaning has been developed and published for each individual fabric quality. A clear philosophy is also not to purchase system components from suppliers whose production takes place in countries marked by child labor.
In principle, erfal is involved in further developing its product range by incorporating newly developed materials and, in this context, to better meet the needs of sustainability.
Explanation for the REACH-regulation
The regulation (EG) No. 1907/2006 (REACH-regulation) is a European chemicals regulation, which came into force on 1 June 2007. REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. REACH is, as a European Regulation, valid for all member nations. The chemicals legislation was harmonized and simplified basically due to the European Regulation “REACH”. Further, different decrees like the European Nickel Regulation were replaced by REACH. The European Chemical Regulation REACH must ensure a high security level for the humanity and the environment. According to REACH, producers, importers and downstream users must registrate their chemicals. Further they are responsible for a safe usage of the chemicals. The erfal GmbH & Co. KG declares, based on supplier declarations, that no products were delivered, which are containing the fabrics of the current candidate list (-> https://echa.europa.eu/de/candidate-list-table) of the REACH-regulation with a concentration of more than 0.1 % by mass (w/w). The erfal GmbH & Co. Kg will inform you unrequested if they get knowledge that fabrics of the candidate list in a concentration of more than 0.1 % by mass (w/w) in the delivered or still to be delivered goods as well as their packaging are used.
Logistics
When selecting the vehicles, attention is paid to fuel-efficient models with low CO2 emissions. The delivery scheduling is carried out with a special software to optimize existing tours and to make new ones efficient from the outset. Thanks to this unique, highly efficient logistics system based on its own vehicle fleet and an extensive network of subsidiaries, short delivery times can also be guaranteed.