Orona and circularity'

Mobility specialist Orona focuses on the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and modernization of elevators, escalators and moving walkways, among others, for healthcare facilities, residential buildings, commercial buildings and urban environments. 'Together we achieve more' has been the foundation of the organization from day one, founded in 1964 in the Spanish Basque Country.

At the time, about eight boys from the Technical School in Mondragón founded a corporation, of which all Spanish employees would become co-owners, says Managing Director of the Netherlands Corné van der Lans. And that is what Orona still is to this day. Some 1,300 Spanish employees currently own the company, which in addition to Spain has branches in France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland and Brazil.

"The corporate spirit also leads to high motivation and commitment of our employees in 2019, resulting in high labor productivity as well as high quality products," says Van der Lans. "In order to guarantee the best elevator for each project, we like to come to the table with the most important stakeholders at the earliest possible project stage to help think about the number of elevators, the desired size, the best elevator speed and other conditions to be able to transport people and goods in a building as efficiently as possible. Then we are happy to handle the engineering and production, in our two in-house, specialized and modern equipped factories. These factories not only offer the largest integral elevator production capacity in Europe, they also work exclusively with European products. That, combined with our vision of sustainability and circularity, makes us unique in the market."

Attention to clean management methods

Sustainability and circularity are high on the agenda of many companies today. Also at Orona, which spearheaded this more than a decade ago. "Back in 2008, we were certified - as the very first elevator manufacturer in the world - according to ISO 14006/Ecodesign," says Van der Lans. "Clean management methods are central to all phases of development, engineering, production, installation, assembly, maintenance and final dismantling and reuse of our elevator systems, escalators and moving walkways. Minimal emissions, proper production methods, energy efficiency and recycling or reuse of components play an important role in this." Part of the development and engineering phase involves looking at how employees can design an elevator that meets all the criteria using as few resources as possible, he says. "Then we look at how to produce this as clean and energy efficient as possible. What are the polluting factors in each sub-process? And how can we eliminate them? Products are purchased as much as possible within a 200 km radius of the factory and transported by train, in order to reduce CO₂-emissions. Installation and maintenance also take place as efficiently as possible, saving on the traffic movements of our mechanics."

"Our professionals are constantly investigating how our elevator systems, escalators and moving walkways can operate even more energy-efficiently, during their full life cycle," Van der Lans said. "In doing so, we actively look at the possibilities, at the end of that lifespan, to recycle or reintroduce as many installation parts as possible as raw materials. In order to make the most of this, we have made agreements with various suppliers."

Attention to society

From a corporate perspective, Orona is not only highly committed to the environment, but also to society, says Van der Lans. "As an organization, we have committed ourselves to returning a fixed percentage of our profits to society each year. To this end, the Orona Foundation invests in various local social projects in Hernani, San Sebastian, where Orona's headquarters is also located. Inaugurated in 2012, this headquarters is part of the Orona campus, where business, R&D, education and the social environment come together. An important part of the campus is the university, fully funded by Orona, where students can obtain a master's degree in engineering. Here they have a choice of two specializations - renewable energy or energy storage - underlining Orona's ambition towards the future."

Curie Road 17
2408 BZ Alphen aan den Rijn

PO Box 147
2400 AC Alphen aan den Rijn

T  +31 (0)172 44 61 16
info@orona.nl
www.orona.nl