Henkel South Africa has continued to prove their commitment to sustainability and innovation with the building of a new effluent plant that uses ceramic filters to treat the liquid waste from its factory. The plant, which is based at Henkel‟s Alberton Manufacturing Site, is a first for Henkel globally.

Henkel operates numerous countries worldwide with leading brands and technologies in laundry and home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
“Our factory produces about 1,000 kilolitres of wastewater every month. We used to treat this effluent chemically before it was released it into the sewage system,” says Manie Botha, General Manager: Operations at Henkel SA. “When our old effluent plant was due to be replaced, we decided to investigate more environmentally friendly options.” One of the options Henkel SA identified was ultra-filtration, which makes use of ceramic filters with micro-sized pores that allow for filtration. The technology is used in the mining industry, but to Botha‟s knowledge has not yet been applied in a manufacturing environment for effluent treatment as it is perceived to be too expensive. After 18 months of trials where Henkel partnered with MEMCON, experts in ultra-filtration technology, they saw impressive results with the ceramic filter technology and so decided to install an ultra-filtration plant. Henkel AG & Co.

KGaA, Corporate Communications
“By March the plant was fully operational. It is the size of two snooker tables, whereas our previous plant was the size of a tennis court. The 16 ceramic filters contained in two modules produce water that looks clear enough to drink. The water‟s chemical composition has proven to be 1,000 times better than the standard set by the municipality for treated effluent. For Henkel SA, this means that we will reach Henkel‟s global 2030 sustainability target for waste in just one year,” explains Bert Veenhof, Engineering Manager at Henkel SA.

Henkel‟s global sustainability strategy is based on the philosophy of achieving more with less, that is, to create more value – for the company, consumers, customers and communities – while reducing their ecological footprint. By 2030 Henkel aims to become three times more efficient by reducing their ecological footprint to one-third of their 2012 levels. The 2015 targets for waste and wastewater is to use 15% less water and produce 15% less waste per production unit.

Henkel SA‟s long-term plans are to be a zero effluent plant, by putting the cleaned waste through a process of reverse osmosis so that it can be used in manufacturing. “If we put the filtered effluent from our manufacturing process back into our factory then the water will be 100% recycled and our environmental footprint for waste will be minimal,” says Botha. In addition to the ultra-filtration being environmentally friendly, it also leads to huge cost savings. “Although there is an initial capital cost, the plant is automated,” notes Botha. “The ceramic filters last five years and require very little maintenance. Previously, the costs of chemically treating the water were very high.” Aside from leadership in sustainability, one of Henkel‟s core corporate values is innovation. The use of this novel technology to the general application of cleaning Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Corporate Communications Page 3/3
effluent was a world-first for Henkel globally. “Yes, we took a risk in using ultra filtration for our factory waste but without risk there can be no innovation.

Innovation requires a paradigm shift and it is refreshing to work for a company that embraces new ideas. We have been using the ceramic filters for three months now and can definitely say that the results are going far beyond our expectations. Our success in South Africa will also lead to knowledge sharing with other countries in the IMEA region, meaning that the application of this sustainable technology will potentially be used in our factories elsewhere,” concludes Botha.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions both in the consumer and industrial businesses with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs about 47,000 people and reported sales of 16,510 million euros and adjusted operating profit of 2,335 million euros in fiscal 2012. Henkel‟s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX.