When it comes to sustainability and finding ways to reduce our impact on the environment a lot of businesses make the right noises but are we doing the right things? Sustainable considerations do not just affect the products we manufacture but also how those products are brought to market. We should look closely at what are we doing with the products and how can we make them more environmentally conscientious. This is crucial to reducing our impact. In textile network Mike Horsten, Marketing Manager Mimaki Europe, explains the “Mimaki Way”.

Over the past eight years Mimaki has been investing in ways to do just that, step-by-step. The first steps at our production factories in Tomi City Japan, focused on optimizing the production process and eliminating stoppages and time wasting. These combined to create a 20 percent loss in production efficiency. Through improved controls there is less waste and therefore less energy consumption per unit than ever before. General waste has also been limited to more acceptable ranges.

New products have been developed too that have less impact and are easier to use. Mimaki’s concern about the preservation of the environment has resulted in environmental management accreditation with ISO 14001acheived in January 2009.

Through implementing an environmental management system, Mimaki has reviewed its environmental policy and organizational system. All activities now planned and undertaken are aimed at finding the best way to decrease its environmental footprint. This verified approach will continue to be improved in the future.

Mimaki recognizes that terrestrial resources are limited. This is why, as a developer, supplier and manufacturer, the company, its dealers and distributors all embrace an ethos of environmental preservation. Mimaki´s has established an Environmental Policy. Together all these steps demonstrate that Mimaki is doing everything in its power to make the world a better place to live in.

[ www.mimakieurope.com]

Mimaki is a leading manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, industrial and textile/apparel markets. Mimaki develops the complete product range for each group; hardware, software and the associated consumable items, such as inks and cutting blades. Mimaki excels in offering innovative, high quality and high reliability products, based upon its aqueous, latex, solvent, solvent UV, and UV-curable inkjet technology. In order to meet a wide range of applications in the market, Mimaki pursues the development of advanced on-demand digital printing solutions. Mimaki Engineering Co. Ltd., (President: Mikio Noguchi) Nagano (Japan), is publicly listed on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange, Inc.

[1] To promote the integrity of operational management systems and improve terrestrial environment activity, Mimaki’s established environmental management system is operated company-wide, assuring and monitoring continuous improvement.

[2] To observe and follow environmental-related law as well as other requirements through the implementation of a range of independent standards.

[3] In order to decrease environmental impact, the following efficient company proceedings and workflows have been established to preserve resources and energy:

1.Reducing consumption of electricity, fuel, resources and energy

2.Reducing industrial waste emissions; and promoting recycling and thorough segregation

3.Preventing environmental pollution by thorough control of harmful chemicals

4.Promoting environmental-friendly design for products

5.Reducing failure rate during manufacturing process

6.Expanding sales of our environmental-friendly products and strengthening the environmental needs of our customers

7.Improving the corrective action ability

[4] Our environmental policy and development is widely communicated to all employees. Through this knowledge, together, we are consciously improving our concepts and environmental preservation policies.

[5] Our environmental policy is promoted on our website homepage and shared with cooperative companies for greater understanding.