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Exhibition at IFEMA (Madrid) - 30/04/2008

   ALMAZÁN MUEBLE ARTESANO, S. L., as in previous editions, has participated in the Internacional Furniture Fair in Madrid, which was held from 22 to 27 of April.

Map of IFEMA 2006 with the location (shaded) of our situation

   In this 2008 edition the new collection OSMA and new additions to the NÓDALO collection have been presented. These collections, with pieces that will mark the beginning of a new trend in furnishing homes that want high-quality furniture, have been designed according to the UNE 150301 : Environmental Management Process in Design and Development – `Ecodesign´.

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«Parques Tecnológicos»magazine

   "Almazán Mueble Artesano and Plásticos Durex have received the quality certificate «Ecodiseño» from AENOR
  "The Environment Secretary of Castilla y León, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, and General Officer of AENOR, Avelino Brito, awarded the quality certificates «Ecodiseño» to the companies Plásticos Durex y Almazán Mueble Artesano at the Parque Tecnologico de Boecillo. The «Ecodesign» certificate awards those companies that systematically improve the environmental impact of the products they manufacture, taking all the phases of their life cycle into account..." [Read whole article]

Obtaining the ECODESIGN certificate

   "Almazán Mueble Artesano, an SME in Soria, the first to receive the eco-design certificate"

   Madrid, 23/02/07 (La Razón).- The eco-design is gaining ground in the industrial field. Therefore, when designing and developing a product, not only do we think of the costs, quality or appearance, but of the environment with the aim to reduce the environmental impact throughout its life cycle. It is thus, our goal to create products that use fewer materials and cause less pollution, using clean manufacturing and incorporating environmental improvements in the distribution which reduce the impacts caused by their use and also at the end of their life cyclce.

   Other companies from different industries are beginning to follow this principle. In Spain, although only three have been granted an official certificate. Almazan Mueble Artesano, located in Berlanga de Duero (Soria), is one of them.

And the first in the furniture industry in Spain and Europe to qualify for the UNE 150301, for products designed with environmental criteria.    The first eco-design from Almazan Mueble Artesano has been a dining table. "We developed a prototype consisting of a wooden base and solid iron tubes to support the glass countertop. Meanwhile, we were selected for a pilot scheme to introduce the rule. We have always wanted to innovate, so we accepted, " explains Angel Martin, managing director of Almazan Mueble Artesano.

   The table was revised with a new approach. Using environmental impact indicators of materials and processes, finally the solid tubes became hollow, the wooden base was made smaller and the glass thinner. "We managed to reduce materials by 40 per cent. Separately we used 15 per cent less glass, 30 per cent less iron and 10 percent less wood. By using fewer raw materials, we have reduced the impact on transport and distribution by 20 per cent: it consumes less fuel. And although our furniture is very long lasting, at the end of its life there will be fewer materials to recycle and the impact will be reduced by another 20 percent, " he states.

   For Martin eco-design is a way by which they intend to continue "because it is a tool that is capable of studying the environmental impact of the product, but also minimizes the use of unnecessary industrial processes, optimizing production and saving money. Now we have an opportunity to redesign our entire catalogue, a hundred pieces of furniture, with this criterion. Our goal is to reduce the consumption of our basic raw material, wood, and to find adequate water varnishes. But always ensuring that our quality standards remain".

   Almazan Mueble produces high-end furniture with solid woods such as Spanish walnut and cherry from France all from controlled felling, and has been incorporating environmental improvements in their processes. For example, for heating only wood residue is used "and in the summer we give it away to a factory that makes chimney briquettes," he adds.

Almazán Mueble Artesano gets the ECODESIGN certificate of quality, "

   The event was attended by the deputy director general of AENOR, Avelino Brito Marquina, and the director of the Division of Economic Management and Modernization of the Economic Development Agency (EDA) from Castilla y Leon, Carlos Diez Menendez.

   The certificate Ecodesign gives credit to businesses that systematically improve the environmental impacts on the products they produce, taking into account all phases of its life cycle, as shown in UNE 150301 'Environmental management of the design and development process'.

Plastics Durex and Almazan Mueble Artesano are the first companies in Castilla y Leon to receive this certificate, and are among the top three that have this distinctive in Spain.    In addition, Castilla y Leon is one of the main autonomous regions in Spain as a whole to hold these certificates, with 1,062 ISO 9001 certificates of quality and 239 ISO 14001 certificates of Environment. In environmental management, Spanish companies rank third in the world with 6,473 ISO 14001 certificates, while with regard to quality management, Spain ranks fifth place, with 40,972 ISO 9001 certificates.    The Ecodesign certificate enables organizations to demonstrate the continuous improvement in their products from the design stage, providing a reliable guarantee of choice of products with environmental improvements, helping to purchase green and cooperate with the assurance of compliance with guidelines in the new approach of the European environmental policy.

   They are designing products that use less polluting materials, which are manufactured by clean production, incorporating environmental improvements in the distribution that reduce the impacts during use and at the end of its useful life.

   The Center of Robotic Automation, Information Technology and Manufacturing (CARTIF), based in the Technology Park of Boecillo, is the entity that has launched the implementation project of the certifiable rule "UNE 150301 in Castilla y Leon: Environmental Management Process Design and Development - Ecodesign".

   The initiative has been developed within the framework of the Plan of Consolidation and competitiveness of SMEs, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Development Agency in Castilla y Leon-the entity that manages the Plan in our region. The work developed during the year 2004 had a budget of 153,556 euros.

   The Ministry of Environment is also involved in quality certification processes in industries such as timber, cement and sustainable building, working on a permanent basis in the search for methods of cooperation with the industry to move forward in meeting the environmental and quality requirements.

The Ministry of Environment has made a commitment to promote the sustainable management of the forests in the region, so that they not only work on the preservation but on those initiatives that involve better use of all its products.    The goal for this legislature is for the region to receive a certificate issued by an external auditor to vouch guarantee that the management carried out in the mountains of the region is sustainable according to the international criteria approved by the Council of Ministers of the European Union in Lisbon.

   Thus, the Ministry of Environment is working with the Forest Service Centre (CESEFOR) and the Timber Service Centre in Castilla y Leon, which integrates all sectors related to the production process, to advance in the process of Forest certification in the region, focusing on issues related to production, processing, marketing and the promotion of wood.

Receiving the ECODESIGN certificate

Here, the Minister of Environment from Castilla y Leon awards the certificate to the Managing Director of the company

DIARIO LA RAZÓN 23/2/2006

   "The eco-design is gaining ground in the industrial field. Therefore, in designing and developing any product, we not only think about the cost, quality or appearance, but we also take the environment into account with the goal of reducing the environmental impact throughout the life cycle. As a result we aim to create products that use fewer materials and are less polluting, manufactured by clean production, incorporating environmental improvements in the distribution and reducing the impacts caused both by their use and at the end of their useful life. Many other companies are also catching on to this principle..." [Read whole article]

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