Dr Prashanth Reddy, Managing Director Fundermax India “Fundermax as a company focuses on the people and believes in equal footing. We are all united by our common values, above all trust, honesty, and transparency. To retain our employees, we not only offer a safe working environment but also numerous learning and development opportunities.” — Dr Prashanth Reddy Fundermax has oriented its production facilities and processes on internationally recognised standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 5001, and ISO 45001. In its procurement of raw materials and intermediate products, Fundermax orients itself on up-to-date standards such as FSC® and PEFC*. Environment We are specialists in the processing of renewable raw materials – and have been so for over 130 years. Our production cycles are closed, and production waste is either recycled back into the production process or used to generate energy in our green energy district heating plants. This works so well, that today as a private company we provide district heating to over 8,500 households. Fundermax follows sustainable production. Most of the products are fibre panels consisting largely of wood that has been processed into “kraft papers”. This wood is sourced from certified vendors which ensure that the wood is produced in compliance with internationally applicable rules for sustainable forestry. The kraft papers are impregnated with synthetic resins, dried, and pressed into durable, moisture-resistant panels under high pressure and heat. These panels do not contain organic halogens or compounds such as are found in greenhouse gases or PVC. They contain neither asbestos nor wood protection agents (fungicides and pesticides) and are free of sulfur, mercury, and cadmium. The exhaust air removed from the drying process is treated to be fed back into the said drying process. This avoids CO2 emissions of ca. 10,000 tonne annually at the production site. Chips and shavings produced by processing (cutting and milling) are not hazardous to human health. This also means that waste can even be disposed of thermally without the emission of environmental toxins such as hydrochloric acid, organic chlorine compounds, or dioxins, assuming modern heating systems. The energy emitted via this process can be put to use. Disposal, in properly managed commercial waste disposal sites, is unproblematic. Social As a company, Fundermax focuses on the people and believes in equal footing. We are all united by our common values, above all trust, honesty, and transparency. To retain our employees, we not only offer a safe working environment but also numerous learning and development opportunities. We welcome and act on the suggestions and ideas of our employees. As a result, the entire team is motivated to work proactively. With the above values and equal opportunities for growth, our employees have made our organisation a GPTW Certified great place to work. Continuous development is important to us. Therefore, teams of experts are deployed at all of our locations. The ideas and suggestions of the employees increase safety in everyday work and enable efficient use of all our operational resources. They also help us all to constantly set new standards in the area of environmental protection. At Fundermax, values such as trust, honesty, transparency, partnership, and decency are not simply buzzwords but are lived as a matter of course because they are anchored in our culture. The results are continuous improvements to protect the environment. In addition, increasing energy efficiency by 20 per cent within five years is a clearly defined goal. Governance Collaborating with stakeholders as partners and a customer-centric approach is in the DNA of the company. The customer is uncompromisingly at the centre of everything we do – all our employees are the image of the company. Our passion for our products results in excellent quality, which leads to customer enthusiasm. This is what we are known for. Through and with enthusiastic customers we are successful and generate good results, which in turn is an investment in the economic growth that leads to a sustainable future. Our business partners are an important part of the ecosystem. They are responsible for successfully executing the projects to ensure that the right quality is not only delivered but also installed at the customer site. We respect the law of land and are compliant with all government policies. About the author Dr Prashanth Reddy, Managing Director of Fundermax India, is a BE (Mechanical) MBA (Marketing) and PhD in Change Management. He has nearly three decades of experience, having spent the last 14 years in the building materials and the real estate sector.