By Boris Marinsky
An agreement has been signed by Forrec founder Marco Zoccarato and the Director General of the Minsk Regional Technopark, Vadim Ganchar. The total amount of investment for the project is to exceed 5m Euros — funded by the Italian company (with a payback period of three years).
The processing facilities are to be located at Minsk Regional Technopark, with a factory now being constructed; equipment mounting will begin in late-August — early September. In line with the terms of the contract, the enterprise should reach its capacity of 4 tonnes of tyre recycling per hour by October 2012. This will provide a significant step forward in dealing with the waste tyres which have accumulated in Belarus (according to some estimates, 50,000 tonnes per year). At present, only 15,000 tonnes are processed annually.
“In determining the best method of recycling tyres, we’ve focused on eco-friendliness and the ability to generate a good quality product,” explains Mr. Ganchar. “Before deciding to set up this factory, the enterprise studied the sales market thoroughly. We’re now confident that new processing facilities will be completely export-oriented. We’ve already signed definite agreements with European enterprises and those from the CIS for the purchase of all our manufactures.”
Forrec founder Marco Zoccarato notes that the Government has toughened requirements regarding purity of recycled materials. Fortunately, the company has been using the highest, contemporary levels of processing for 10-12 years, while paying great attention to protecting the environment. “Our major trump card and achievement is that we make almost zero impact on the environment,” he underlines.
Speaking about collaboration between Belarus and Italy, the Chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, Boris Batura, stresses that it’s rather fruitful. In 2011, trade turnover between the Minsk Region and Italy amounted to around $160m.
“The project to construct processing facilities is vital for Belarus, as we lag behind in recycling, with large volumes of waste tyres appearing. Some small enterprises are involved but this isn’t enough. We hope that the agreement will become the first stage of further beneficial co-operation,” Mr. Batura stresses.
During negotiations, recycling of refrigerators and other electronic household appliances was discussed.
