Govindaraj CS, CEO, Industrial Business and Projects, IFB Industries Ltd
Taking a few minutes out from engaging with his many visitors, Govindaraj CS, CEO, Industrial Business and Projects, IFB Industries Ltd spoke with Mohana M, Editor, Clean India Journal about his company’s commitment to sustainability.
How has IFB evolved to its present product offerings?
IFB’s Board has always been very particular that we contribute to sustainability and the environment. To that effect, we have invested heavily over the last 15-20 years to set up one of the best R&D facilities in India.
Recently, our focus has been on sustainability. Laundry is one of the industries which consumes the maximum amount of water. If one is able to reduce water consumption by 50%, it will make a big difference at the global level.
What technology have you adopted to deliver sustainability to your customers?
We have tied up with a UK-based company called XEROS to help us save on water by 50% and power by 50%; indirectly, the consumption of detergents also comes down by 50%. These new technologies not only help us save on utilities, but also improve fabric care. The life of the garment increases by around 30-40%, which is a huge fillip to sustainability, because the amount of water spent on producing or manufacturing new garments is very high.
We have already introduced this technology in our products for the commercial sector; by the end of this year, we will harness this technology for our domestic machines as well.
What impact will these sustainable solutions have?
We are all aware that there will be constraints when it comes to water availability. For every 1 kg of clothes washed, you are consuming about 12-15 litres of water. With this technology, it will come down by 6-7 litres – a 50% reduction.
Disposal of used water is a challenge. But when water usage comes down, water discharge automatically comes down as well. The load on the effluent treatment plant will then reduce, as well as its power consumption. It will have a chain reaction with savings at each and every step for each and every process.
