Expo-Net invests in low-carbon central warehouse

International plastic net manufacturer Expo-Net Danmark A/S (Hjørring, Denmark) is making a significant capital investment with the construction of a state-of-the-art “low carbon” centralized warehouse at the company’s main 12,000-square-foot production site in Hjørring. The building will provide 3,300 square meters of covered storage for raw materials and finished goods, all under one roof. Ground preparation for construction has already begun, and is scheduled to be completed and operational in late 2024.  

Expo-Net has been developing and manufacturing thermoplastic netting, mesh and filtration products since 1959. Its extensive product range, sold globally, is manufactured from 100% recyclable polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) polymer grades. Expo-Net’s products are used in a variety of applications, such as processing aid resin flow meshes for vacuum infusing wind generator rotor blades and other large fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite parts, as well as for protection and filtering in finished products used a wide variety of industrial, commercial and consumer market sectors, including: gas/liquid filters; telecoms; biogas; food packaging; HVAC systems; building and construction; sewage and effluent wastewater treatment; aquaculture fish farming.

Expo-Net decided to build the centralized warehouse to invest in its growth. In addition to providing the combined benefits of improving materials handling and overall site efficiency, space will be made available in the production area currently being used for storage; this will allow a second capital project for the site to be implemented in the future.

“We are planning to use the freed up space to increase Expo-Net’s lean production capabilities by relocating a number of our existing extrusion lines and upgrading older lines,” managing director Lars Klinkby explains. “This will further improve our production efficiency and prepare the business for future expansion.”   

An additional benefit of the new central warehouse is that it will further reduce the Hjørring site’s carbon footprint — movement of materials around site will be much less, and the new building is being designed and specified to be a highly energy efficient “low carbon” facility.

Over the last 15 years, Expo-Net says it has invested in a number of “green” projects, which has enabled the company to minimize its carbon footprint. Today, 100% of the internal waste materials produced are reused and 80% of the site’s electricity comes from clean, renewable energy suppliers. Investments were also made to be able to filter and reuse processed wastewater and to capture and reuse heat generated from the production lines.