News and articles

Quality assurance and documentation
The TGA approval is a quality assurance and documentation of façade insulation systems and is intended to help minimise construction damage and faults. This is important at a time when rising energy prices and stricter demands on sustainability have increased the focus on façade insulation systems. Both the documentation and the work actually executed must be of a proper standard in order to provide house owners with confidence in the solutions.

Strong Danish sector cooperation
The Sector Association for External Façade Insulation Systems in Denmark (ETICS-DK) has worked closely with ETA-Danmark prior to the issuing of a TGA approval for façade insulation systems. According to Allan Nielsen, Director of the Association, the ETA approval is a real benefit from financial, environmental and safety-related perspectives. For example, it is intended to ensure that the building materials used live up to the highest construction-technical requirements.

“At ETICS-DK we are appealing strongly to project planners and architects to make sure that, from the perspective of design, all descriptions and tender materials are correct from the start. This means, for example, building with TGA-approved ETICS systems, because proper documentation pays dividends in the areas of finance, the environment and safety alike,” emphasises Allan Nielsen. (Source: Bygtek.dk)

Aesthetics, indoor climate and rising energy prices
“Façades are being upgraded and renovated throughout Denmark in a host of different and exciting projects. A large number of home owners are choosing to have their façades post-insulated and rendered so as to bring their homes up to modern standards out of consideration for both energy and the environment,” says Claus B. Høgdal, Director of Sales and Marketing at Alfix.

One of the home owners who has chosen Alfix’s external insulation solution is Stefan Kloth. “We chose the system in order to improve the aesthetic expression of our house, and because we wanted a better indoor climate. Today, our home is free from cold bridges, the indoor climate has improved considerably and we have significantly reduced our total heating consumption as a result of the renovation. We’ve absolutely noticed an improvement in both the indoor climate and our energy consumption,” relates Stefan Kloth.

See TGA approval here!

Up until the end of October 2022, Søren was a sales consultant in Central South Jutland and on Fyn, and before joining Alfix he worked a number of jobs, including ten years as an independent master mason.

This time, we’ve swapped the three usual “Meet one of the Alfix team” questions for three questions that centre on having been at Alfix for years and years.

What made you stay in the job for so long?<BR>
“I’ve been able to organise my working days however I wanted – in compliance with the company guidelines, of course. So this has meant a largely unrestricted, enjoyable and uncomplicated working life. I’ve had fun at work every day – and that’s what kept me going.”

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your 32 years?<BR>
“Alfix has grown in more than one sense of the word. In addition to increasing turnover, the workforce has more than doubled over the past 32 years, while the range of products has increased three- or four-fold over the same period. It’s wonderful to have been a part of such a great success.”

What’s Alfix like as a workplace?<BR>
“Even though the workforce has expanded considerably, I still feel that there is a particularly close collegial working relationship here. In addition to having a manager who treats me with respect, and who means a great deal to me, I have a lot of excellent colleagues. We work as a team and ‘play each other better’.

“The difference between Alfix and other companies is that at Alfix, we take care of and look out for one another. It goes deeper than just ‘workmates’. And this is still how it is today, even though there are more than 50 of us working here. No-one is more important than anyone else here.”

Thank you<BR>
In conclusion, both Alfix and Søren Heiwald would like to say a big “Thank you!” So thanks to everyone who came to the reception on 13 October, where we celebrated everything that Søren has been involved in building up. “It was a great day in every respect. I’ll never forget it,” says Søren.

Søren is now looking forward to filling his days with golf, swimming and taking care of his home, which dates from 1937 – so he certainly has plenty to keep him occupied! He will also be joining Alfix’s seniors club along with a number of his former colleagues.

A candlestick is more than just a candlestick. The candlestick shown here is also a residual product from a quality check of a self-levelling compound. More specifically, it is a leftover piece of Alfix PlaneMix 50, which is typically used for smoothing and levelling floors.

Every day, the Alfix laboratory performs a range of quality checks on products as a part of our comprehensive quality management programme. The checks naturally result in some product leftovers, which can be put to creative uses. Over the years, the lab has created a parliament of owls, a polar bear and a range of candlesticks in various shapes and sizes, all made of filler.

From creative leftovers to tons of waste
Coming back to the candlestick: it and around 40 clones were made for a reception in October where we bid farewell to Søren Heiwald, sales consultant and mason, who was with us at Alfix for more than 32 years. The candlesticks were highly decorative, but in the great scheme of leftover products, they barely move the needle. The amounts of residual product from the laboratory are tiny compared with those stemming from the production department.

The residual waste from Alfix’s production processes is sorted and recycled to a high level of reuse in partnership with the environmental company Marius Pedersen. We operate a comprehensive waste sorting system and reuse as much as we possibly can. You can find out more about Alfix’s working relationship with Marius Pedersen here!

Development making masonry more appealing as a profession
With a tile adhesive being central to any tiler’s work, the availability (since the spring) of a reduced CO2 and Nordic Swan label (Alfix ProFix Plus) is most certainly of relevance to teachers and trainers in the field, as well as masonry apprentices; familiarity with the product and including it in the training thus make sense too. Pia Skjøtt-Larsen, a training consultant from ‘Byggeriets Uddannelser’, the Advisory Board for Education and Training for the Building and Construction Industry, is happy to see this development: “When suppliers create something sustainable, it piques our interest. We’re always happy when things go that way.”

In today’s masonry training, the topic of sustainability is covered as part of ‘construction and working environment’, but in future it is going to be a separate subject. “Focusing on making all aspects of professional masonry ‘green’ will help to make the training more appealing, attracting a greater variety of people to the profession. We are working towards more diversity and sustainability in the profession, and those two things go together,” Pia tells us.

Inspiration from Alfix’s side
Which specific initiatives make the biggest difference to the green transition? What materials and systems are most sustainable? How do we approach the documentation and new climate requirements? The answers to these types of questions can provide some inspiration - and in fact some answers were given by Mikael B. Noe, technical project manager at Alfix, during this summer’s seminar. Read on for a selection of them:

Which specific initiatives make the biggest difference?
“Product development, including selection of raw materials, is a considerable focus, because production of raw materials accounts for the vast majority of Alfix’s CO2 footprint. Typically this falls into three groups of raw materials: aggregate, cement and additives. If we take aggregate as our example, there are three areas that make a difference: 1) replacement of aggregate with light fillers to some degree, 2) the energy used to produce light fillers and 3) sourcing of additives locally,” Mikael B. Noe tells us.

When, for example, Alfix is selecting additives for a product, there will be a focus on getting a certain quality that will mean low CO2 emissions. As Mikael points out: “CO2 emissions are an important part of sustainability with regard to environment, but other conditions also have a major part to play, i.e. characteristics of the three pillars of ESG, i.e. environmental, social, and corporate governance, which have to be taken into consideration in sustainability. Ensuring high quality and thereby achieving sustainability and less damage/fewer complaints makes sense for the environmental agenda, but also makes sense financially for the party in question. At the end of the day, improving the working environment is always something we bear in mind when we are developing new Alfix products. This might mean simplifying processing, a greater spreading capacity per kg in the bag and therefore fewer kg in the bag to be hauled around... ...it might also mean reducing dust. Increased spreading capacity and dust reduction are two advantages of our new ProFix Plus tile adhesive.”

How do we approach the new climate requirements?
New climate requirements are going to come into force in building regs from January 2023. This means that climate calculations will have to be produced, in the form of LCA (life cycle analysis) calculations, for new building work. As the industry readies itself for this, one of the things we here at Alfix are focused on is improving our knowledge of how the new requirements will affect masons. What, therefore, does the mason need to be aware of and put into practice?

We have broken the new requirements for reduced CO2 emissions from new construction down and concluded that the most important role of the mason to begin with, from 2023 onwards, will be to pass on EPDs (environmental product declarations) for the products used in work, together with information about quantities. The EPDs form the basis for LCA calculations, and the EPDs that accompany the products provide the most precise calculation (although industry-specific data can also be used). As a supplier, Alfix has the important task not only of making sure that the products have an EPD, but also of making it readily available (e.g. from the Byggebasen database or the Alfix website).

Here you have the chance to get to know more about production’s ‘wet’ department and Torben, who, together with Freddy and Mikkel, manages products such as sealing membranes, primers and façade paint. Their work is a balancing act, juggling buckets, lids and trays, and often involves juggling as a team: “If we are struggling with something in the 'wet’ department, we pull together and resolve the matter,” Torben declares.

Tell us a bit about you, your department and your own work
My name is Torben Hansen, I work in what we call the ‘wet’ department at Alfix, and have done so for four years now. It’s known as the ‘wet’ department because we produce the ‘wet’ goods - the 1K and 2K sealing membranes, the sealing primers, paint, FlexBinder etc.

I originally received general warehouse training back in the 80s, have built freezers and also worked a number of years in the food industry. I have also had a side job, working as a companion to people with special needs, for several years.

What are your tasks, specifically?
In day-to-day operations, my job is to mix 1K and 2K sealing membranes, i.e. weigh out specific quantities of various products and add them in the correct order, following a recipe issued by the laboratory, in our mixer.

Our working day is reasonably varied in terms of the tasks we have, which suits me just fine. If a rush order ever comes in and changes plans, as it occasionally does, we can soon rearrange things and adjust production to what is needed.

The kind of wet goods that are most challenging to produce are also the most exciting, façade paint being one such example; this requires our grey cells to work a bit harder. Production of this usually runs across a number of days, which is challenging but always exciting to experience.

What makes for a particularly good day at work?
All in all I’m happy in my work at Alfix; I have nice colleagues; there’s also a good canteen, we mustn’t forget, and a camaraderie which, in my opinion, helps to lift team spirits.

If we are struggling with something in the 'wet’ department, we pull together and resolve the matter.

This has led to the company launching the Alfix ProFix Plus tile adhesive, an upgraded version with a CO2 footprint 27 percent less than the standard Alfix ProFix.

Raw material scrutiny under a green magnifying glass
Production of raw materials and all related transport accounts for more than 98 percent of the entire impact of CO2 from construction chemical products. As this is also how it works generally at Alfix, it makes sense, as well as being necessary, for us as a company to focus on the carbon footprint of raw materials and take sustainability work in our sector seriously.

The process of creating the new, reduced-CO2 product saw us rethinking the composition of raw materials so that we would use raw materials with the least impact on the climate as possible. In other words, materials such as reduced CO2 cement, synthetic material made from bio-based polymer and light fillers that were created by nature from extinct European volcanoes. The natural light filler also helps to ensure a good spreading capacity.

The product’s improved consumption of resources, meanwhile, is supported by a new type of bag packaging based on FSC-certified paper and an internal plastic film made from 100% recycled plastic. Dust reduction has also been achieved here by using a completely new technology that cuts consumption of the otherwise commonly used oil by more than 90%. The product’s Nordic Swan label and Emicode EC1 Plus are documented evidence that it has a minimal impact on the indoor environment in homes.

Being a ‘green gazelle’ a source of pride
Every year ‘Børsen’ in Denmark honours the gazelle companies that are driving growth and innovation. One of the ideas behind the ‘Børsen Bæredygtige Cases’ (sustainability cases) is to honour the many green initiatives taking place across different industries on exactly the same basis.

Fifty cases have been selected by the Børsen Bæredygtig editorial team in close consultation with analysis agency Wilke and an advisory board of sustainability specialists from the business community. The initiative is intended to contribute to the change in culture which, according to those taking the initiative, is expected to define the degree of sustainability.

Here at Alfix, we are proud and also grateful to have been chosen as one of the first ‘green gazelles’. This is helping to make 2022 a year to be proud of, all in all. After all, this year has also seen Alfix being nominated for ‘Company of the Year’ by Business Kolding (click here for why), for the Danish Building Industry’s Climate Award and ‘Danish Construction Centres’ (Danske Byggecentre) Environmental Award, the latter of which we won.