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As part of the Giatex programme, Fitecom is building a pilot wastewater treatment plant for wool. It will have a treatment capacity of around 600/700 cubic metres per day. ‘The idea is to recover between 50 and 60 per cent of the effluent,’ CEO João Carvalho told T Jornal.
The waste-water treatment plant will be for private use and corresponds to an investment of around 1.5 million euros. ‘We’re currently in the final results phase of the effluent analysis, and we expect it to be completed in September,’ says João Carvalho.
This is a significant investment in the management and reuse of water resources. This investment comes at a time of economic slowdown in the sector: ‘I feel a downturn in the market, especially in fashion products, the consumer is losing purchasing power,’ he says.
‘There’s a bad flame burning all over Europe, which is our main market. 85 per cent of our production is in Europe, I’m starting to feel the need to explore other markets, let’s see what happens with the US elections,’ he continues. ‘The United States is a market we’ve been working on, it’s a difficult market given the distance and proximity to Asia, but it’s a really interesting market for us to develop in terms of fashion,’ he adds.