The new KAPO factory in the Hartberg Eco Park is a milestone in several respects. First of all, of course, for our company. After almost 100 years of company history in the Pöllauer Tal Nature Park, it was certainly not an easy decision to relocate the production site. The deep connection to the place remains for us. We look back with gratitude at the opportunities that KAPO was offered there to develop as an internationally sought-after company.
And yet it is an important and right decision. It enables us to remain fully up to date in the future. The path already taken by Karl Polzhofer sustainable production of high-quality wooden windows Let’s continue with this consistently and bring his philosophy into the present day.
The new construction of the factory in the Hartberg Eco Park is not just a new production facility – it is a place where the future takes place and truly sustainable production can be implemented. And therefore a real one green lighthouse projectwhich also represents a milestone for the development of the Hartberg economic region.
The whole project falls within the scope Brownfield revitalizationi.e. the renewed use of disused industrial areas. In addition to the economic importance of revitalizing such areas, the ecological dimension must also be taken into account in times of increasing sealing and the resulting problems.
But the “green” approach goes much further. The entire production facility was designed with the in mind maximum energy efficiency planned.
So we are proud of the new factory largely energy self-sufficient right from the start will be. We achieve this big step by using a photovoltaic system with an output of 100kWp (expandable to 630kWp). In addition, electrical energy is recovered from the braking energy of the milling motors of the new machines and systems. Another innovation that contributes to independent energy supply are the new chip extraction and compressor systems, in which speed-controlled motors are installed, which enable maximum efficiency with minimal energy use. The waste heat from these new machines and systems is also fed into the internal heating network.
In addition to all of these measures, Construction of a biomass cogeneration plantwhich generates both technical process heat and heating energy exclusively from wood waste from the manufacturing process in the spirit of the circular economy. The excess wood waste is processed into pellets and marketed locally. In addition, the production steps are ecologized through the use of robot technology. By using modern CNC-controlled production systems, the products are manufactured in a more resource-saving and energy-efficient manner.
KAPO is the first wooden window manufacturer in Austria biocide-free wood protection. In order to be able to optimize this important ecological aspect of our products, an automated painting system was built to ensure resource-optimized application of the paint material. In addition to reducing material consumption, this technology also significantly reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
That all buildings are made of solid wood construction It almost goes without saying. This construction method guarantees excellent energy efficiency thanks to the natural insulating properties of the wood and leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption during the building’s use phase.
The financing of this project is supported by the European Union and the IBW/EFRE & JTF funding program for regional development. With this support, the “new construction of the production facility with modernization of the machines and systems” in the new KAPO factory can be safely realized. Further information about the IBW/EFRE & JTF program can be found at www.efre.gv.at.