Sustainability / Natural resources
Smart use of renewable energy NATURAL RESOURCES
Wind
11 GWh/year = equivalent of 947 tonnes of oil (toe) annual electricity consumption of 3,000 households
In 2014, three wind turbines were installed on the Avelgem production site. The turbines produce around 11,000 MWh of renewable energy each year. That’s about as much as the yearly electricity consump- tion of 3,000 Flemish households. With this clean energy we pow- er our own production facilities. Avelgem Green Power allows IVC and our partner communities to work together to promote green energy.
Sun
We use solar energy to make our fleet greener, in every sense of the word. For instance, we use the power from our solar panels to charge our employees’ electric cars and e-bikes. Furthermore, even the forklifts in our warehouses are charged with solar energy. The result is a great amount of kilometres with zero emissions.
Photovoltaic panels Sunny Side Up
Luminosity 3,846 x 1,026 Watts
Water
Heat exchangers
IVC forklifts
Charging stations for e-carpark
Encouraging the use of e-bikes
Low energy pumps (makes less noise)
Clean river water
Solar Panels
More energy efficient production
The IVC Flooring Development Centre in Waregem (Bel- gium) has been turned into a sustainable base. It uses heat recovery, intelligent lighting technology and is powered by solar panels on the building.
Solar panels contribute significantly to reducing our plants’ carbon footprint. We installed more than 6,000 solar pan- els on the roof of our Avelgem plant generating 3,076 MWh per year .
Process cooling water
Using minimal electricity com- pared to other cooling systems, these innovations have resulted in a 30% increase of energy efficien - cy in the overall production of vinyl flooring. By eliminating the need for machine-driven refrigeration, we’ve also significantly reduced on-site noise and created better working conditions.
The exchange of thermal energy (up to 4,000 kw) is achieved through state-of-the-art heat exchangers, so there is no direct contact between the river water and the process wa- ter en route.
The manufacturing of vinyl floor - ing requires cooling water to ab- sorb heat in the different stages of production. IVC has invested in a system that uses surface water from the nearby river Scheldt as a secondary coolant . Using only a minimal amount of energy, river water is pumped up and sent along the closed loop flow of our Avel - gem plant’s process cooling water.
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HETEROGENEOUS VINYL • Product catalogue 2025
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