LB Technology publishes its first group Sustainability Report

In its 50th anniversary year, LB Technology is publishing its first group Sustainability Report, which reveals that the strong economic and financial results achieved by the group in 2022 were accompanied by significant progress in its ESG strategy.

In its 50th anniversary year, LB Technology is publishing its first group Sustainability Report (the second for LB), which reveals that the strong economic and financial results achieved by the group in 2022 were accompanied by significant progress in its ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy.

Sustainability, research and technological innovation, automation, market presence and customer service continued to be the group’s key business drivers, enabling it to report a 45% increase in full-year consolidated revenue from €45 million to €65 million.

The Italian market, where the LB Technology group was involved in almost all of the ceramic tile producers’ most important plant investments, accounted for about half of the group’s consolidated revenues. In overseas markets, the largest orders mainly came from the USA, Spain, Turkey, India and Colombia.

Barcom, acquired in March 2022, also contributed to the group’s 2022 result and in turn was able to benefit from group synergies. The company participated together with LB in new plant projects (including the construction of a complete dust and flue gas extraction plant for a factory in the United States) and posted an increase in revenues from €6.8 million to €10 million.

“2022 lived up to our expectations, with a further acceleration of the strong recovery that began in 2021 and a positive trend that continued into the first quarter of 2023,” said CEO Corrado Fanti. “It is plausible that this strong demand for technological investment in the ceramic industry will slow down in the second half of 2023, which is why we are continuing to pursue a business diversification strategy and expand our range of activities into other manufacturing sectors, including premixes and fertilisers, which will account for 50% of our revenues in 2023, thus keeping our turnover in line with the brilliant 2022 results.”

ESG performance

LB’s second sustainability report, which for the first time also includes the subsidiaries Barcom and Sermat, reveals significant improvements in environmental performance. Key aspects include the parameters used for evaluating technology utilisation impact, with long-term improvements in customers’ emissions, as well as the impact of direct and indirect atmospheric CO₂ emissions, which in 2022 remained in line with the previous year (despite the inclusion of Barcom this year) with a 9% decrease in Scope 1 emissions and a 21% decrease in Scope 2 emissions (both Location-Based and Market-Based).

The adoption of 100% renewable sources proved decisive in terms of consumption. The photovoltaic systems installed at the Fiorano and Sassuolo sites produced around 264,000 kWh of electricity in 2022, meeting part of the energy requirements of LB and Sermat.

The process of replacing diesel-powered forklifts with electric vehicles was also completed, while employees were given the option of choosing hybrid vehicles for the company car fleet. Finally, there was a significant reduction in the production of inorganic waste (-92%) and ceramic waste produced by the laboratory (-76%), and the use of oils and lubricants was also eliminated while maintaining proper functioning of machinery.

“In 2023, we are already moving forward with the deployment plan that will enable us to implement a number of specific actions aimed at achieving ISO 14064 (GHG - greenhouse gas reporting and management), ISO 14000 (environmental management) and ISO 45000 (occupational health and safety) certifications, which we expect to obtain by April 2024,” confirms Fanti.

R&D and technology

“These sustainable improvement efforts are one of the pillars of our strategy, especially in the field of research and technological innovation,” adds Fanti.

In this context, the company presented its latest innovation for ceramic body preparation at Tecna 2022 in Rimini. Called LB Hybrid technology, it is an innovative hybrid solution with the primary goal of achieving eco-sustainability through energy and water savings while guaranteeing maximum plant flexibility.

Fanti explains: “We designed LB Hybrid with a view to the future and the need to preserve one of mankind’s most important resources, namely water. Whereas conventional technologies require 15 litres of water to produce 1 square metre of tiles, technologies like LB Hybrid allow for savings of between 50% and 65%.”

Social responsibility

Following the incorporation of Barcom into the LB Technology group in 2022, the total number of employees rose to 140, of whom 97% are employed on permanent contracts: 46% are aged between 30 and 50, 40% are over 50, and the rest are under 30.

To encourage talented young people to join the company, the group has entered into special agreements with the University of Modena and the local technical high school (ITS), organising career days and offering internship opportunities to foster students’ professional growth. Last but not least, the company is involved in activities that have a direct impact on the local community, including collaborations with charitable, cultural, social and health organisations and with children’s sports associations.