The future of (our) industry

At 3B, we like to share our passion for the future of our industry. With the representatives of various European delegations who came to visit us in Battice on Thursday February 8, 2024, as part of the programme of the Informal Meeting of #Competitiveness Ministers organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 #Belgium2024, we explored the subtleties of the glass fibre manufacturing process.

We discussed the essential role of glass fibre in making the #Green Deal a reality, since glass fibre is one of the first steps in many green value chains: lightweight vehicles, wind turbines, insulation materials... The development and evolution of products for these applications are part of our R&D priorities.

3B, like all other EU glass fibre manufacturers, faces important challenges affecting its profitability: sky-high energy prices and inflation on raw materials, unfair competition from imported Asian products driving sales price down...

Simultaneously, to meet the objectives of the #Green Deal as a company, our roadmap to #carbon neutrality by 2050 is very dynamic. We have been working (for almost 20 years already) to reduce our CO2 emissions by improving and transforming our processes, reducing our energy consumption, and deploying new technologies. Between 2000 and 2023, we have reduced our CO2 emissions by 45%. There are many projects underway (PV panels, insulation, LEDs, heat recovery, etc.). In parallel, we are producing green energy at our Battice site and gradually increasing the proportion of green energy we purchase. Also, we are considering Carbon Capture and other future technologies.

However, these ambitions are conditional on the survival of our industry, and that of European energy intensive industry in general, which is so essential to Europe's future and its sovereignty. We call therefore on the European Commission to show greater willingness to apply the required trade defense measures to restore a level playing field in Europe.

We are happy and proud to contribute to a sustainable Europe and look forward to continuing to be part of this societal epic for many years to come.

Dear visitors of this February 8, we count on your support to continue to do so, and we thank you warmly for your visit and your interest!