Sustainable Mirka - for you and the environment

Our business is focused on providing the best surface finishing preparation tools and systems. We also offer abrasives and solutions for challenging conditions within the precision industry. To be the most sustainable choice, we are digging deep down to the core of our company to figure out what it really means to be sustainable. We have accomplished a great deal already and have many more initiatives we will take on in the future.

For us working at Mirka, it has always been clear to not waste financial or material resources – of our own or those of our customers. We find it is equally clear to preserve the planet’s resources. Sustainability is a natural extension of this approach. It means taking the economy, the earth, and people into consideration when we make business decisions – now and for future generations. As a part of our effort to save resources and promote paperless offices, we have decided not to print this year's report. An electronic version is easier and faster to distribute and does not require printing or transports, which means reduced carbon footprint.

We have worked hard to conserve energy and raw materials, reduce waste, increase recycling, and decrease the use of persistent chemicals. We are developing healthier, safer, and more efficient products and processes so that our customers and employees will benefit. For example, our dust-free sanding systems help protect the lungs of workers while giving a cleaner and better surface finish.

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Our Clean Commitments. Here we have compiled our economic, environmental and social initiatives and achievements under “Our Clean Commitments”. Under these topics, we describe the development of our corporate sustainability transparently with various KPIs. Read more in our Infographics or Download all pages.

About Mirka

Mirka Ltd is a global company and part of the family-owned KWH Group Ltd. Mirka’s business idea is to offer world-leading a broad range of ground-breaking sanding solutions for surface finishing and precision industry. Our business focuses on our customers’ needs.

Continuous improvements of our operations, our expertise and our work with our customers help us to offer tailored systems and commercial comprehensive solutions that are supported by a wide range of technically superior abrasives and polishing products as well as innovatively designed tools.

Approximately 97% of Mirka’s production is exported, with products being sold in over 100 countries. Mirka’s business areas are focused on the automotive, wood and boat industry, and the company’s typical customers include manufacturers of wood products, car body shops and repair shops and automotive manufacturers and subcontractors. Mirka’s products and services also serve the construction and renovation industry and the composite industry. Mirka is also providing innovative solutions for precision industries, including microfinishing, powertrain, industrial rollers, consumer electronics, and glass sanding.

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We are continuously looking for opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint – this aligns with our company values and also cuts costs.  

Global Mirka

Mirka is a globally expanding company with 18 subsidiaries located in Europe, Middle East, North and South America as well as Asia. Headquarters and production are located in Finland. More than 97% of our products are exported and sold in over 100 countries.

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We are the sustainable industry shaper in the surface finishing business and a leader within all segments in our market. Read more Global Mirka. (Page  8)

An overview by our CEO

Long-term sustainable development has always been an important and natural part of Mirka’s business. From start to finish. It is an integral part of Mirka’s vision: to be seen by customers and interested parties as to the most responsible company. This vision of sustainability is expressed as our clean commitments. This means that we strive to manage all parts of our operations and manufacturing with as little impact on the environment as possible and ensure that using our products improves health and ergonomics for end users.
When considering the environment, our goal is to develop environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and use raw materials that are sustainable. A good example of the latter is our water-based polish compounds which are better for users and the environment than solvent-based compounds.

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"We have a policy to source raw materials, components and services locally when we can and great care is taken on auditing and approving all suppliers. We are only as sustainable as our whole network is together", says Stefan Sjöberg, CEO.

Success driven by people

“Mirka wants to offer its employees the chance to develop and grow,” explains Mirka Finland’s HR Manager Ulla Kauppi.

“Thanks to the diverse range of training on offer, our staff can develop their expertise, which, combined with a positive, can-do attitude, a healthy work ethic, and a good approach to their work, enables Mirka staff to advance in their careers and take on new challenges.”

One of the objectives of Mirka’s HR policy is to increase staff wellbeing in a range of different ways. For example, employee ergonomics is a key focus area, both in the offices and in production facilities, in addition to which staff are offered plenty of different exercise opportunities and cultural experiences to enjoy in their free time. Any shortcomings are addressed swiftly, and solutions are sought for problem situations in ways that are satisfactory to all involved. Employees are provided with good tools for their work and investments are made in workplace comfort.

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"One of the objectives of Mirka’s HR policy is to increase staff wellbeing in different ways", says HR Manager Ulla Kauppi. Read more: The Mirka Way and Our Organisation

Clean and economical progress with biogas

Continuous Improvement Manager Staffan Stenvall has had his biogas-powered Volkswagen Touran for three years and has only positive things to say about it.

“Biogas is undeniably one of the solutions of the future,” he explains.

Biogas is a domestic, renewable transport fuel, and the easiest way to reduce transport-related carbon dioxide emissions by up to 85%. Biogas production is intrinsically linked to the circular economy, as biogas is produced from biowaste from agriculture, industry and households, amongst other sources. In the circular economy, one person’s waste is another’s raw material. 

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Pumped for the day by cycling to work

Jarmo Saviaro cycles the two and a half kilometres to work come rain or shine.
“If I were driving, I’d be significantly more tired,” he states.

“I’d much rather jump on my bike than start up my car when it’s -25 °C. Cycling also offers a number of other benefits, being unsurpassed as a form of exercise that exerts minimal pressure on the joints.” Jarmo explains that he has had to give up running due to knee pain, but cycling doesn’t trouble his knees.

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Creating togetherness among employees

Mirka leisure committee organizes and activities for employees outside working hours. The goal is to build team spirit and togetherness also during leisure time.

The activities range from culture, such as trips to local summer theatres, to sponsoring employee’s participation in sporting events.

- We have chosen to focus on these two areas in order to achieve a balance to work and it is more interesting than lectures, says HR Specialist Michaela Dahlsten, who is also the chairperson of the leisure committee. 

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Clean proactivity

We proactively look for ways to reduce the environmental footprint of our products. We do not use chemicals on the List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and are in full compliance with the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals legislation (REACH).

Sustainable Innovation

We see sustainable innovation as smart and profitable. Here are some of the advancements we are making:

• developing new low-energy technologies – this decreases the amount of energy needed to manufacture our coated abrasives.
• switching to a non-heavy metal colouring agent – this reduces the amount of heavy metal in our products.
• improving the handling and processing of waste resin – this ensures better health and safety for our workforce and decreases the chance of disposal hazards.
• innovating new catalyst technology – this makes our thermal machine lines more efficient, reducing the energy consumption needed to make our products.
• designing efficient product transport routes – this reduces our carbon footprint.

In order to be a pioneering company in our industry and to continue offering our customers innovative and high-quality sanding technology solutions, product development has a key role in our operations. The focus of product development is to create comprehensive solutions that not only solve the customer’s everyday challenges but also address occupational safety and working environment concerns.

Mirka Power Tools – Leading the way

In 2009 we launched the first brushless electric sander Mirka CEROS. In 2012 Mirka® DEROS hit the market.  It's the first sanding tool with Bluetooth® connectivity and an integrated vibration sensor. Awarded several times for our innovative tool design, most of our electric sanding tools are also the smallest and lightest on the market.

For more than 15 years Mirka has been a forerunner in developing dust-free sanding solutions. When Mirka invented dust-free sanding with Abranet, it truly revolutionised sanding. Our net abrasives continuously improve working conditions, health and safety issues have always been at the forefront of our development work.

Today we offer a completely dust-free sanding solution with intelligent tools. All of our advanced sanders are designed, developed and manufactured in Finland.

Read more about our award-winning power tools.

Low environmental impact with Mirka Power tools

Mirka power tools have been in the front line when it comes to compliance with environmental laws and regulations for many years, and since 2016 even more so, as there has been a separate team within the Power Tools unit that focuses on compliance.

The key focus of the team is making sure that Mirka Power tools have an as little impact on the environment as possible.

It is also becoming increasingly clear that customers have become more environmentally conscious, and the company has been receiving more and more request for compliance certificates and documentation. "For example, the German market has for many years focused on recycling and there are often inquiries from there regarding Mirka sanders recyclability", explains Compliance Manager Annika Stenmark.

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Whenever there is suspicion of non-compliance the product in question is sent to an external independent laboratory for testing. There is also continuous internal auditing of components used in production, and their supply chain, among other things to ensure that no electronic components contain conflict minerals.

Digital tools ensure healthier work conditions

The possibility to monitor health and safety at work took a leap forward with the launch of the myMirka® App. One aspect is the possibility to monitor vibration levels and exposure to, for example, prevent the white-finger syndrome.

By connecting a Mirka electric sander to the app via Bluetooth* the user can monitor vibration levels in both real-time and over a longer period**. With the myMirka Dashboard, that visualizes the vibration monitoring collected through the myMirka App, the conditions at the workplace can easily be followed up and analyzed and ergonomics are significantly improved.

Besides vibration, the app can also measure energy consumption, workloads, and speed when sanding. There is also a feature that monitors the temperature status of the machine motor and motor drive and if any of these show signs of overheating, the machine will automatically switch to safety-mode. Hereby the lifetime of the tool is increased and the carbon footprint reduced.

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*The Bluetooth connectivity is not available in all countries
** Some features are available as in-app purchases

The customer’s needs in focus for Mirka Power tools

The Mirka® CEROS was released ten years ago to revolutionise the world. The design work was based around the objective of developing an electric sander that was as light, small and effective as the pneumatic tools that were far more common at the time. This required the implementation of new brushless motor technology and good cooperation with end customers and the design agency.

“The end result is history, CEROS, and its successor, the Mirka® DEROS, are still some of the best electric random orbital sanders in the world, which many have attempted to copy with little success”, explains Unit Manager Veli-Pekka Västi of the Power tools unit.
By switching from pneumatic tools to electric ones, you can save a significant amount of energy. For example, in the case of the Mirka DEROS, this means up to 90% less electricity consumption than that of an equivalent pneumatic tool. The trend is moving ever more towards electric and battery-operated devices, and Mirka is working actively on developing new solutions to replace pneumatic machinery for the automotive manufacturing industry.

Unit Manager Veli-Pekka Västi of the Power tools unit.

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Sustainable abrasives

Our goal at Mirka is to create sustainable abrasives that provide you with the perfect finish while protecting both your health and the environment. When aiming for the perfect finish, you are never satisfied. There is always a hunger to explore and improve. This is at the heart of Mirka’s R&D team, they are continuously breaking new ground and developing new solutions - pushing the frontier of what we can expect from an abrasive, sander or polish.

One example of Mirka leading the way is the invention of Abranet. With one genius idea - to use a net instead of paper for the abrasive - we revolutionized sanding.

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"Our ongoing fight for the environment is how we can make abrasives even more sustainable", says Development Engineer Hans Hede.

European abrasives manufacturers have the highest quality and environmental standards in the world, but this message has yet to reach all customers and interest groups.

This is something that the Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA)  is working with.  The organisation has approximately 250 member companies, including Mirka. FEPA's President is Mirka CEO Stefan Sjöberg.

As one of the founding members, Mirka is involved in shaping the programme and amongst the first to initiate sustainability reporting according to new criteria. Mirka's quality and safety requirements are already so advanced that, in practice, adherence to the new programme will not require any changes to our operating practices.

Read more about AbrasivesSafety.

FEPA serves as a guarantee of quality for customers. By purchasing FEPA-certified products, customers know that the product they are buying will meet specific quality and safety criteria. 

Water-based polishes– A better choice for both you and the environment

“All polishes that we produce are water-based. It’s a sustainable commitment from our side. Solvent-based products may be effective in the short run, but they are more damaging and harmful, both for the user and the environment,"  says Development Engineer Maria Sundqvist, who develops our polishes.

Mirka’s polish production takes place in Jakobstad, Finland.

“It’s a close partnership with our production team and we always keep sustainability in mind when developing new polishes,” Maria tells us.

Kim Rönnholm, Mirka’s polish portfolio manager, notes that it is very important for customers that Mirka produces water-based polishes.

“If they aren’t water-based, they have a terrible smell. You need a mask when polishing. Our water-based polishes are very user-friendly.”

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All polishes that we produce are water-based. It’s a sustainable commitment from our side. 

The Mirka Ltd Restricted Materials List (RML) specifies the chemical substances that are classified as "banned", "restricted" and "substances of concern".

Mirka Restricted Materials List (v. 2.0 / 2020)

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Clean partner

We consider ourselves a partner to our customers, suppliers, and co-workers. Being a clean partner means developing strong relationships built on trust and mutual benefit. It also means setting up two-way communication to promote honesty, integrity, and collaboration.

Customer Partnerships

We are both a supplier and a partner to our customers. We provide them with products, services, and solutions and they provide us with customer feedback and continued business.

Supplier Partnerships

We believe in developing long-term, fair partnerships with suppliers that are consistent, reliable, and secure. Our goal is to reduce risks for both our business and our suppliers.

A foundation of our lasting and genuine cooperation with stakeholders is a constant and active dialogue with all cooperation partners. This allows us to react quickly and effectively to needs arising within the customer base.

Mirka’s glass sanding solutions - Better for the environment while saving you time and money

In 2018, Mirka France was training the Mont Blanc team on the top of the mountain, at an altitude of 3 842 m / 12 605 ft. Mirka provided an efficient, sustainable, and economic maintenance solution; instead of replacing the scratched glass panels, which would have to be brought in by helicopter, the team would sand and polish the glass panels on the spot.

The goal was to sand the glass on the glass walkway that leads to the “Step into the Void“- Aiguille du Midi Skywalk. This is a protective glass that is 8 mm thick. It is extremely complex to replace so instead the Compagnie du Mont Blanc preferred to sand and polish the glass to elimination scratches from, for example, shoes from visitors walking on the bridge.

"It was a challenging project," Christophe Pichon, Salesman, and Nicolas Vermorel, Technician, Mirka France, tell us.

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“It’s not easy to see at the altitude 3842m. There was also a lack of oxygen, the risk of altitude sickness, and the temperature of the glazing made it difficult.”

Sustainability at the core of a global Mirka

At Mirka, we opt for using energy more efficiently in every process, by using more renewable energy resources. We do this to combat climate change and to lower our environmental footprint. Sustainability is part of “The Mirka Way” and is integrated throughout all areas of the business and daughter companies.

Read more: Infographics
Great examples from the daughter companies 

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Clean production

Our production work culture is team-oriented. We work together to reach high-level safety, quality, efficiency, and sustainability goals in all of our manufacturing facilities.

Over the years, we have:

• reduced the amount of VOCs by 250 000 litres by eliminating Isopropanol as a solvent for stearate coating.
• phased out phthalates, used for softening purposes, in 2004.
• found a phenolic resin to use with lower content of free monomers over 17 years ago.
• eliminated use of chromium (for colour).

Recently, we have invested a lot in personal safety equipment for production workers, for example in better safety clothing, for the best possible protection. We also measure and keep track of indoor air quality.

In 2012, we eliminated the use of the toxic substance cryolite (two tonnes per year) entirely.

Currently, we are developing a process that is xylene-free for fine grit production. This process will be used to manufacture waterproof finishing sheets, a Mirka niche product.

On-site manufacturing reduces transportation

The largest project during the past two years has been the phase-out and closing of the old landfill in Oravais where left-over and discarded material from the conversion was deposited. The landfill was considered unsustainable and superfluous since materials in question have been transported to the Adven power plant for a longer period, and in 2018 the landfill was covered. The project was planned by the consulting firm Ramboll and monitored so that it met environmental requirements.

Also, the use of fossil heavy fuel oil in heating has been changed to a renewable source of energy, i.e. wood chips. However, the launch of the new combi-maker line has increased the usage of water and electricity due to the manufacturing processes needs.

At the same time, the new maker will lead to reduced transportation emissions, since the possibility to manufacture a wide range of materials used in conversion on-site has decreased the need for transports between Oravais and the high-bay warehouse in Jeppo.

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Improved ergonomics through robotics

In Karis, there have been significant investments in both energy efficiency and ergonomic during the past two years. The new production hall that was introduced in 2017 only uses LED lighting in both the ceiling and as work lights at the machines. All in all, it has been a successful introduction and feedback from production workers has been positive regarding the brightness.

Also, it has been investigated to change the lighting in the entire factory to LED based, but since lighting fixtures in the older part were updated recently, the more feasible solution is to gradually change the fluorescent tubes to the corresponding LED tubes.

The biggest advance in ergonomics has been the automation of yarn roll handling in the weaving process. Before the rolls, weighing approximately 3-6 kg were loaded into the machine manually, and since there are hundreds of rolls the task was repetitious and unergonomic. Now there are three robotic arms that load rolls for most of the material qualities. This has meant that the operators can focus more on the manufacturing itself.

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Clean performance

We are systematic in our approach – we have a long-term economic strategy and are focused on sustainability. Once we have decided what is the right thing to do, then we will do it right.

With Customer Performance, Health and Safety in Mind

The success of our customers’ business is key to our own company success. Designing products and services that improve our customers’ performance, health and safety in their workplace help us achieve our financial performance goals.

Profitable business ensures sustainable development

Mirka Ltd is part of the KWH Group and is an independent, internationally competitive, family-owned group, whose business strategy aims to ensure stable long term profitability. Mirka’s objective is self-sufficient, sustainable development of operations. This is made possible by a solid financial foundation based on the positive development of the company result and strong solidity.

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