Future Fibre Technologies (FFT), manufacturers of fibre optic intrusion detection systems, which are used throughout the world to protect the perimeters of airports from theft, sabotage and third party interference, has announced its commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices.
CEO Rob Broomfield said the company has earned an enviable international reputation since its formation in 1994 and its ‘green’ technology had played a major role in that.
“FFT’s intrusion detection solutions have an impressive ‘green’ footprint,” Mr Broomfield said. “All systems including Secure Fence™, Secure Pipe™, Secure Link™ and the recently launched Secure Zone™ use fibre optic elements on the field, which use passive field components that require no remedial maintenance and have a rated life of more than 15 years. This longer lifecycle, evidenced by a manufacturer warranty that is double the industry norm, brings down the total cost of ownership for the customer and is better for the environment.”
The unique designs of FFT products ensure an extremely low energy use. They work using fibre optics, sending a beam of light down the entire length of the fibre optic sensor and then analyzing the behaviour of this light to detect intrusions. This design is highly energy efficient since no distributed electricity is required to power each zone.
“The energy consumed by a Secure Fence locator, for example, is 120W and it is capable of protecting a perimeter of up to 80km,” Mr Broomfield said. “This equates to protecting a petrochemical plant with a perimeter of 6km for the price of running a single light bulb.”
Mr Broomfield said FFT’s ‘green’ technology is supported by initiatives to achieve sustainable operational and manufacturing practices as well.
FFT products contain components that comply with Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives, which is the European Union (EU) directive (2002/95/EC) for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The purpose of these directives is the prevention, recovery and safe disposal of waste and the promotion of equipment design that facilitates the repair, dismantling, reuse and recycling of equipment.
This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. RoHS is often referred to as the lead-free directive, but it restricts the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether(PBDE).
In its marketing activity FFT helps support the environment by using chlorine and acid-free sustainable forestry paper in all of its printed material and literature.