We are VOLAR
Plastic products and aviation history
Our company was founded in its current form in 1993. For a long time before that, our story has been influenced by a great many twists and turns, characters and events. Some of these are related to photography and the plastic developing trays made by Eino Riihelä in the early 1950s, whereas others are related to the history of Finnish aviation and the manufacturing of the world’s best gliders in the 1970s. With the same ingenuity and dedication, we manufacture today’s advanced molded parts and subassemblies for industrial customers throughout Finland.
Finland’s best for individualized plastic applications
In 2023, Purvac Oy became part of Volar. The company offers our customers an excellent package of expert and comprehensive services, as well as several complementary technology and material concepts under one roof. A stronger overall entity than before creates new development options and benefits for our customers’ projects. With vacuum and thermoforming technology, as well as polyurethane foaming methods, we can manufacture a wide variety of components and assemblies tailored to our customers’ needs.
Volar develops with determination
The era of aircraft manufacturing has left a lasting imprint on our company name. The word volar refers to flight and flying. The meaning suits us well. We are proud of the technologies that we have mastered with expertise, and we constantly invest in our machinery to stay at the forefront of technology. We develop our systems, engage our employees, and solve challenges together. We tirelessly refine our processes and take pride in what we achieve. We are determined to remain a leading force in our industry, so that you too can get the product or service you need faster, easier, and more cost-effectively. We also thrive and evolve by helping you and your company succeed.
The environment
Whenever possible, we take into account the environment and sustainable development in our production. Plastic raw materials are by-products of the petrochemical industry, and their procurement does not independently burden natural ecosystems.
Quality and environmental systems
Volar Plastic adheres to the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality and environmental management systems in its operations.
Recycling and cost efficiency
We recycle almost all plastic waste generated in production by granulating ABS, HDPE, and PS plastics into pellets, which are then added to our plastic sheet raw material. As a result, the plastic sheets we use contain an average of 30 percent recycled pellets. Plastic waste that is not suitable for recycling is sorted as energy raw material and burned in the gasification power plants of Lahti Energia, located two kilometers from the factory. In these facilities, plastic is converted into electricity and district heating. The newest facility is the world’s first gasification power plant using only recycled fuel.
In thermoforming production, we have mainly transitioned to machines that use halogen heating, which, compared to conventional molding machines, consume almost 50 percent less electricity per heated kilogram of plastic. The efficiency of halogen heating is based on the wavelength of thermal radiation and the rapid adjustability of the heating.
The heating of our production facilities is done with a modern air conditioning system equipped with heat pumps, which recover approximately 85 percent of the waste heat released during production, thereby heating the building. When the temperature drops below -6 ºC, the building requires additional heating, which is supplied as district heating from Lahti Energia’s gasification power plants.
SmartIO saves energy
In 2011, we adopted the wireless SmartIO system, which is used to programmatically and remotely control the factory’s air conditioning system to reduce electricity consumption. We regularly measure the energy consumption of various electric machines and equipment, based on which new investment decisions are made to minimize energy consumption.
We participate with our customers in the approval processes for various environmental certifications for products and recycling of packaging materials.
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