Family owned Mirka is the international innovation leader in responsibility in its field

With its sustainable production and innovative technologies, Mirka affects the safety, carbon emissions and energy consumption of the entire abrasive industry.

Offering the world’s highest quality abrasive and polishing products as well as various surface finishing and precision sanding solutions, Mirka is known for its sustainability. About 97 percent of production is exported, and there are already subsidiaries in 18 countries. Still, the family business, which turns 80 years old, has kept its roots in Jepua, Ostrobothnia.

“For our owners, it is important to act responsibly as part of society and the business life of our home region, and that is why our production is largely built in the vicinity of Jepua”, says Mats Sundell, Mirka’s Research and Development Director. Jepua has a lot of specialized expertise related to power tools and sanding accessories, which makes operations easier and more efficient. “That’s why locality is also a logical solution for us.”

On the other hand, it is a long way from Jepua to Mirka’s main market, which makes price competition impossible. According to Sundell, Mirka strives to act as an innovation leader for quality and responsibility in its field. “We do not see the green transition of the manufacturing industry as a threat, but as a great opportunity. We have an open company culture where we dare to try new things.”

The market leader in the dust-free sanding industry

Gaia has cooperated with Mirka in management strategic consulting and sustainability communication. The goal has been to reduce the environmental impact of production, enhance the circular economy and create healthier operating environments for customers. “Mirka has worked for responsibility long before others, and our task is to help maintain this lead”, says Gaia’s Senior Advisor Pasi Rinne.

Mirka wants to promote the safety of its products, and that is why the company started renewing its processes more than 20 years ago. “At that time, no one considered it a problem that sandpaper, and abrasive products produce dust during use, but we wanted to do something about it”, Sundell recalls. Dust is dangerous for people’s health, and it also reduces the quality of surface treatment. With the dust-free concept that Mirka developed, the company has become the market leader in the dust-free sanding industry, whose solutions are now being copied by international competitors.

Mirka’s product portfolio offers also other solutions that are safer for the environment and people, such as water-based polishing compounds that do not use solvents. In this way, the products help create healthier, more environmentally safe operating environments with better climate effects. “The most important thing for us is how our products affect our customers’ processes”, says Sundell.

Energy consumption and material waste are minimized

For almost as long, Mirka has developed the resource efficiency of its production, which reduces the amount of waste generated and saves natural resources. One problem point that was identified was the production of sandpaper, where almost a third of the roll material ended up as waste.

“We started thinking about a solution first with the Central Ostrobothnia Technology Center and then with Ekokem, and in 2012 we opened our own recovery plant, which produces almost all the energy we need from wastepaper”, says Sundell.

Five years ago, Mirka took a decisive step to also reduce energy consumption in production. “We wanted to find a replacement for the drying ovens used in the sandpaper industry, which can be almost the size of half a football field, Sundell says. Two to three kilometres of sandpaper are dried in the oven at a time at about 100 degrees.

Today, Mirka can give up the huge drying ovens gradually. – Instead of them, we can use new production technology, digital printers that use 95 percent less energy.