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Here’s how this venerable German manufacturer has committed to carbon-neutral manufacturing and green kitchen design. By Dianne M. Pogoda

 

Häcker Kitchens has long been a proponent of sustainable manufacturing, sourcing and materials, and was the first German kitchen company to be awarded with a Carbon Neutral certification.

The company, founded in 1898 by cabinet craftsman Hermann Häcker, is a family-owned kitchen cabinet manufacturer, now in its 4th generation of ownership. All its products are manufactured in its five plants in Germany, so it can maintain strict control over processes and its environmental impact. Protecting the environment is a key part of the company’s corporate policy, and it aims to conserve resources in all areas, to leave a healthy and livable world for future generations. 

Häcker maintains a sophisticated energy management system pursuant to DIN ISO 50001, a voluntary international energy standard that sets requirements for managing and improving energy consumption and efficiency.

 

 

The company’s PURemission features formaldehyde-reduced wood-based materials. Through careful selection of the wood-based materials and its suppliers, Häcker has succeeded in complying with the stricter emission guidelines in accordance with the US CARB2 (93120) and TSCA title 6 requirements. The maximum values of the European guidelines’ emission class E1 are still met and in some areas far below. With PURemission, Häcker has created the best conditions for clean indoor air. 

Among its environmentally conscious measures are:

  • Sourcing 55 percent of all raw materials within a 30-mile radius of its manufacturing facilities to lessen the impacts of transportation;
  • Implementing water, energy and material recycling systems throughout production and post-production;
  • Lacquer laminate fronts with over 50% recycled material content
  • Water-based coatings
  • Using green packaging materials, including cardboard and paper products, eliminating the need for foam blocks and polystyrene sheets.

Häcker offers more than 1,900 colors in the NCS color system, and to maintain sustainable production, the company developed its own state-of-the-art painting system — tested in its own labs — to maintain a consistent focus on quality and a high level of safety. Häcker only uses water-based paints, producing 90 percent less harmful solvents and promoting a positive ecological balance as they sustainably protect and refine the renewable, natural raw materials.

Häcker also uses an innovative gluing technology — called PUResist — for all of the laminated edges on its cabinet boxes. This is a formaldehyde- and solvent-free solution that establishes a strong adhesion between wood cabinet and laminate front material. The solution is water repellent and resistant, and offers a seamless design along cabinet edges. This gluing technology has propelled the design of many of Häcker’s cabinet fronts, including the new AV 6023 GL range, characterized by extraordinary grooved wooden panels, which will launch at KBIS 2023.

The 124-year old company operated as a carpentry workshop, and transitioned in 1972 to industrial manufacturing. Today, it produces more than 1,000 kitchens daily. In 2018, Häcker Kitchens made its North American debut, introducing its cabinet door styles, color options and front materials to the U.S and Canadian markets. Häcker Küchen is based in Rödinghausen, Germany, and currently exports to more than 70 countries. The headquarters for Häcker Kitchens North America is in Miami.

To learn more about Häcker Kitchen’s sustainability efforts, click here.