Worldwide leading manufacturer of technology for the sustainable production
The Miba Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of technology for the sustainable production, transfer, storage and use of energy. At Miba Gleitlager Austria GmbH in Laakirchen (Upper Austria), the technology group manufactures bearings with diameters of 80 to 600 mm. The bearings from Miba find use in wind turbines, HGVs, ships and aircraft.

From new product to recyclate
“We were initially hesitant about whether we should really switch to recycled solvents in our in-house degreasing process. After all, we also manufacture bearings for aviation, so the requirements concerning the cleanliness of the components are very high,” explains Michael Trausner, Lead Buyer at Miba Gleitlager Austria. “When all the tests were successfully passed, however, we decided to make the change. And we are very happy we did so. It turned out to be exactly the right step at the right time. The degreasing process with the recyclate works perfectly, which is also down to our successful cooperation and close exchange with Richard Geiss GmbH,” emphasises Trausner.

It took a total of six months to switch from using the new product, perchloroethylene (PER), to the recyclate at the Miba site in Laakirchen. The solvent specialists at Richard Geiss GmbH accompanied the entire process. They advised and supported the Austrian technology group during all the process steps, carried out detailed laboratory tests together with Miba and repeatedly checked and analysed the parameters in the laboratory. The degreasing of the bearings with the PER recyclate was initially tested on reference systems at Miba before the three Pero systems were changed over for in-house degreasing.

73 percent less CO2 compared to new products

Excellent for both Miba and the environment: with the PER recyclate from Richard Geiss GmbH, Miba achieves a 73 percent saving in CO2 emissions when cleaning and degreasing bearings compared to the use of new products. “The switch to recycled solvents is an important step forward in our corporate mission of ‘Technologies for a cleaner planet’,” explains Anja Friedrich, Buyer at Miba Gleitlager Austria. Miba has set itself an ambitious milestone on its path to achieving climate neutrality by 2040: by 2030, the technology group aims to halve the CO2 emissions from its in-house production processes. “Resources in the form of solvents for the degreasing of our bearings also play a role in this area,” Friedrich continues.

In 2023, Miba Gleitlager Austria purchased more than four tonnes of recycled perchloroethylene (PER) from Richard Geiss GmbH and therefore saved 13.53 tonnes of CO2 emissions in one year alone compared to the new PER product it had previously used, equivalent to 73 percent. “We confirm the annual CO2 savings to our customers with a special and individually calculated certificate,” explains Manuel Huihui, responsible for International Sales and Technical Support at Richard Geiss GmbH. Manuel has accompanied and supported the changeover process at Miba.

A stable degreasing process
For Miba, the switch from using a new PER product to the recyclate has been a major step which has a particularly positive effect on its CO2 footprint. Nothing has changed in the degreasing process itself, except for the product that goes into the cleaning systems. The process parameters have remained constant and stable. “That was also one of the requirements for Richard Geiss: we had a well-functioning and stable degreasing process which naturally had to run smoothly after the changeover to the recyclate as well – and it does,” explains Manuel Krallinger, Project Manager Electroplating & Lacquer Coating at Miba Austria.

100 percent quality
The recyclates from Richard Geiss – perchloroethylene in the case of Miba – are in no way inferior to new products, they actually offer more. “Our recyclates achieve 100 percent of the quality of the original goods while also offering an environmental benefit,” assures Bastian Geiss, CEO of Richard Geiss GmbH. The solvent recyclates can be infinitely recycled in the distillation plants in Offingen, which reduces the need for newly-manufactured solvents and therefore saves valuable resources.

Reliable and safe delivery
Miba is supplied with the high-quality PER recyclate in Laakirchen directly by Richard Geiss GmbH once a month. The solvents are delivered in safety containers and special vehicles from the company’s own vehicle fleet. “This means our customers get everything from one single source and we can respond to their needs and make just-in-time deliveries to them if necessary,” emphasises Bastian Geiss. “In addition to achieving sustainability and the saving in CO2 emissions, the delivery reliability, quick response time and the good support were reasons for our switch to the recyclate and Richard Geiss,” emphasises Michael Trausner.

The waste products are collected by Saubermacher Dienstleistungs AG, an Austrian partner of Richard Geiss GmbH.

Pioneer in the changeover
The changeover to PER recyclate at the Laakirchen site, which was expanded in 2011 with a 2,400 m2 hall for the production of raw materials for bearings, has a pioneering character: new products and processes are always tested at the headquarters first before other Miba sites and plants in the area of bearings follow suit. “We have two more sites with degreasing systems in Austria alone. Here, too, we see the potential for CO2 savings through recyclates in the future, now that the changeover in Laakirchen has proven successful,” says Trausner, looking ahead.

About Miba AG
Miba AG develops and manufactures function-critical components for applications along the entire value chain for energy. Its products make an important contribution to the efficient and sustainable production, transfer, storage and use of energy. The sintered-moulded components, bearings, friction materials, power electronics components, coatings and e-mobility components from Miba find use worldwide in products including vehicles, ships, aircraft, construction and agricultural machinery, wind turbines and power grids.
Miba AG has approximately 7,600 employees at 29 locations and most recently generated a total sales revenue of 1.205 billion euros (31/01/2024).

About Richard Geiss GmbH
Based in Offingen in the district of Günzburg, Germany, Richard Geiss GmbH is one of Europe’s leading specialists in the area of solvent recovery. The company manufactures high-purity distillates from solvent waste through distillation processing. Richard Geiss GmbH supplies solvents for industrial surface cleaning, textile cleaning and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Contract cleaning rounds off the range of services as the fourth business area. Richard Geiss GmbH has approximately 110 employees in Offingen. The company has an approved processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes of solvents per year, which are processed into high-purity distillates, and is certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001 as well as a specialist waste management firm. Richard Geiss GmbH was founded in 1959 by Richard Geiss and is a family business which is now in its third generation and led by Bastian Geiss.