Fight for Survival: Business and Energy Costs
Even though the Greek enterprises seeking to be innovative and extroverted, reduce their costs and become more competitive, the distorted structure of Greek energy market cancels heavily that their attempt. Typical is the case of Komotini Paper Mill.
It is a compact, but extroverted industry, located in the industrial area of Komotini 32 years. He was always outgoing, as exports to the Balkans yielded up to 30% of turnover.
In the papermaking industry, the energy cost is up to 40% of manufacturing costs, as besides electricity for the operational needs of the plant, and thermal energy required for drying the paper. Therefore, the only way to remain competitive was to compress the energy costs and, by extension, the processing costs.
Investing in R & D
Amid crisis and despite the lack of liquidity, the Komotini Paper chose to invest equity in research and development (of 1.5 mil. EUR), the biennium 2011-2012. In collaboration with a Greek construction firm has designed an innovative -the installation which, indeed, was awarded as "Environmental Investment of the Year" as part of the institution of environmental sensitivity awards "Ecocity".
The specific industrial boiler, developed by Paper Komotini, instead of fuel oil using biomass to produce thermal energy needed for drying the paper: "Previously, the annual cost steam reached 2 million. Euro. With the biomass boiler managed to reduce costs by 15%, "he said, speaking in" MTK ", the company's production manager, Mr. Paris Gravouniotis.
Meanwhile, Paper Komotini manages almost zero pollutants greenhouse gases (about 11,000 tonnes CO 2 per year, produced by fuel oil). With this innovative facility became the first industry sector -and of the few in Europe with almost zero releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Goodwill is not enough...
Nevertheless, the benefit to the industry by investing in biomass boiler almost zero due to the distorted structure of the Greek energy market, "the formulation 'threshold' of buying and selling power system and dogmatic, irresponsible and uncontrolled swelling the field of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) ", as stated by Mr. Gravouniotis. Additionally, as explained, these extra costs, such as the Special Consumption Tax (SCT), the end RES and SGI and the recent shift of emission rights market cost PPC, overstretching the final product and threaten the company's viability.
"In an average Greek paper, the end RES was to be the 13th electricity bill-and the pass-through of CO 2 emissions cost in the 14th ... Overall, the aggregate (exorbitant and unrealistic) 4% of production overhead (overhead). And this is the sole responsibility of the state and the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (ministry) and the mechanisms designed mistake-or ignored teleios- in the case of PPC emissions, "explains Mr. Gravouniotis.
Increases-fire
In 2012, increases in the current tariffs reached (damning for the sustainability of manufacturing energy-intensive industries) 20%, an amount representing up to 4% of the total manufacturing cost.
"Together with other costs from increases in network charges, the total processing costs for the mill Komotini in 2012 increased by 15 euros to ton of product. When you consider that a cost increase of around 5 per tonne is enough to lose significant exports to Turkey, it is understood how this affects our very large increase in energy costs, "says industrial production manager, adding that" only the end RES reached unacceptable 6% in the total energy bill to the energy intensive manufacturing, increased by 1,833% since 2008 ".
"Why do we wonder?"
"We are the economic 'cockroaches' of Europe, which, despite all the adversity of the Greek business environment and flimsy financial edifice, we manage to produce, export, to innovate, to employ workers and pay taxes and bank charges . The government - especially the ministry regarding the Energy-seems to hold the 'spray' of our extermination, in complete ignorance of reality, but also the requirements of the Prime Minister to support the Hermes of the real economy, which decades we serve, "says Mr. Gravouniotis.
Already, the industry of paper, with 16 mighty industries and a history of decades, counts two closed businesses and several more staggering, almost exclusively due to energy costs: "Soon, we will see steel, cement, glass and ceramics to accept one at the blow and I would wonder ... "concludes meaningful.