Henniges embarking on a more sustainable journey

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—Underneath the auto industry's transition is a current of sustainability sweeping it forward.

OEMs have become more vocal about their sustainability goals by—yes—bringing more electric models to the market, but also by demanding more of their suppliers to ensure greener supply chains and more sustainably made parts for every vehicle, be it ICE, EV or in between.

And as a trusted supplier in the automotive space, Henniges Automotive Holding Inc. is committed to greater sustainability, too, Jennifer VanHorn, Henniges' vice president of human resources, told Rubber News.

Henniges, she said, is in the earliest stages of establishing its sustainability roadmap. To do that, the company has enlisted a partner to help it evaluate its business and develop achievable goals that will lead it toward carbon neutrality.

At this point, Henniges wasn't ready to disclose those steps, but VanHorn expressed confidence in the process.

"We are doing it the right way," VanHorn said. "We will have validation in the long run, but we are in the earliest stages of that to set us up for meeting those targets. I think it's really setting Henniges up to be competitive, not only for all the things that we've talked about (with product development), but in this environmental world, too.

"We may not be as far publicly as some others are, but I believe our foundation and our roadmap are going to be rock solid. Henniges is going to be in a really good position to hit all those targets, not just the ones set by our customers, but just be a good corporate social responsibility company."

While the roadmap is under development, Henniges' sustainability vision already is taking shape, in both its production processes and product development.

Chief Operating Officer Larry Rollins was quick to note that manufacturing facilities across the globe have harnessed solar and wind power for their operations. He pointed to the plants in Terreon and Guadalajara, Mexico, which have been fitted with solar panels, as proof that the company is taking the right first steps forward.

"I just remember when I was in college, I had a statistics professor who used to say 'In God we trust, all others bring data.' I think one of the things I like about our partner is they are really taking this data and showing us where, 'OK, this is what the data is saying.' Because it's one thing to say you are going to do it, but how do you measure it?"

Deepak Manchanda, global vice president of sales and the Europe region, agreed, noting that Henniges is committing to actionable, science-driven strides toward greater sustainability.

Across the globe, he said, Henniges facilities are taking critical first steps toward greater sustainability.

"We are doing the right steps and working with a partner to come up with science-based targets and creating a roadmap to get there, rather than making a marketing statement," Manchanda said.

When it comes to its products, Henniges is incorporating more recycled and recyclable materials into its offerings, and it is working with OEMs to find the right fits for them.

Some of this is driven by the customers, but a lot of it is driven internally, said Fred Jamieson, global vice president of engineering and program management.

"We have got some things out there, based on customer needs. We have been able to deliver products that are 100-percent recyclable," Jamieson said. "But similar to some of these discussions about EVs, we are seeing similar trends with our customers around sustainability. We are hearing a lot about lofty goals and a lot of commitments with unspecified time horizon, so we have increased recycled content."

Sustainability can be tricky, too. Because somewhere between the lofty goals and the bottom line there can be a disconnect. And that can put Henniges' fully recycled and recyclable products on the shelf for down the road.

"Frankly, the feedstocks for some of these recycled content (products) have a cost barrier," Jamieson said. "So maybe some of our customers are not quite ready to pull the trigger on those. … Our job right now is to develop these solutions. We have got them ready. We understand the business case, we understand the capabilities, we show how we can function with these more sustainable products and then we put them on the shelf."

The key to greater sustainability, Rollins said, is not losing focus of where you want to get and understanding fully how you are going to get there.

And that involves every aspect of Henniges' operations, from its product offerings all the way down to its daily habits. Because the sustainability challenges ahead are big, especially for a company operating in the rubber industry.

"We use rubber. Rubber has EPDM, it has carbon black, it has oil. But those are not the kind of things you can use in a product and be 100-percent environmentally friendly," Rollins said. "So I think that is where this team is always looking for what other things are out there to try to do different that slowly chips away at that."