Epson is focusing on innovation and the circular economy: the company presented its vision for a sustainable future at the Circular Valley Convention in Düsseldorf. The focus was on resource-saving technologies and closing material cycles – from recycling paper to reducing water consumption in textile production. Experts such as Andreas Asel provided exciting insights into technologies such as the PaperLab and dry fiber technology, while Epson’s robotic solutions and color label printers also demonstrated practical solutions for a circular economy.
Resource conservation and the circular economy are central to Epson’s Environmental Vision 2050: the aim is to use Epson technologies to achieve the transition to a sustainable circular economy. Production processes are designed to minimize the use of resources and waste and, where possible, to close loops. If waste cannot be reduced, opportunities are sought to reuse it directly on site at the Epson locations and add it to the production process or, where not possible, to recycle it professionally.
Epson’s investment in technological innovations that conserve resources is also a key approach to the circular economy. Around 1.5 million euros are invested in research and development every day. These innovations relate both to the further development of existing printing technology (heat-free) and completely new approaches.
One of these innovations is the Epson Dry Fiber Technology. The idea was originally developed in the company’s production facilities to reduce the cardboard waste in a sensible way. Engineers at Epson in Japan developed their own technology based on this basic idea: dry fiber technology and later also a machine, the PaperLab. In simple terms, the machine produces new paper from old office paper with minimal use of water. The underlying principle: the paper is first defibered and then reassembled. This principle can also be applied to other materials. In this regard Epson is currently working on projects to recycle clothing. For example, Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato presented his second collection at Fashion Week in Paris, which included recycled garments. In addition to closing cycles, another aspect here is the reduction of water in the production of textiles. A study performed by Epson revealed that it takes an average of almost 700,000 liters of water to produce the clothes in an average German closet. At Circular Valley in March, Andreas Asel, an Epson expert of Dry Fiber Technology, will be on hand to answer questions about this technology and the PaperLab. He will be showing the papers produced and examples of office materials that can be produced via PaperLab.
The move towards a circular economy is not only a predominant topic in research & development. Epson is also consistently thinking in terms of circular applications for existing products. Another example: robots. Epson has been producing robots for over 40 years and is the world’s leading manufacturer, in the industrial sector of Scara robots. Robots can be used not only in assembly, but also in disassembly and thus provide essential support for circularity in the manufacturing industry. Visitors will be able to find out more about the fields of application for Scara robots and discuss this topic with Epson experts. Epson demonstrates a very practical application with a ColorWorks C4000 color label printers – labels can be created on the run with all the necessary information as required, allowing resources to be planned and deployed right from the start.
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