11 novembre 2020
Estra and Consiag (a shareholder of Estra S.p.A.) have acquired a 10% stake in Bisenzio Ambiente S.r.l. (5% acquired by Estra and 5% by Consiag) held by CIPECO S.r.l. through a capital increase of € 77,000.
Bisenzio Ambiente S.r.l. owns a treatment facility for hazardous and non-hazardous special waste in the form of liquid and pumpable sludge located in the Municipality of Campi Bisenzio (Florence).
During the design and construction phase, the facility operator identified and adopted European Best Available Techniques (BATs) in order to deliver a high level of environmental protection, optimisation of raw material consumption, products, water, and energy and adequate prevention of accidents.
The facility, which became operational in July, covers an area of 5,000 square metres, has an annual treatment capacity when fully operational of 186,000 tonnes of liquid waste a year (or 510 tonnes a day) and a total maximum storage capacity for incoming waste of 1,505 m3. The various types of waste sent to the facility are first blended and then subjected to specific treatments (based on chemical and physical, biological, demulsification and acid/basic neutralisation processes).
The facility is fully enclosed within an industrial structure in order to minimise odour and noise emissions. All tanks and vats are aspirated and the gases are routed to the gaseous emission treatment system. All processes occur indoors and treatment consists of separating the liquid portion of waste for subsequent purification from the solid portion, which will be sent to third-party facilities for treatment and/or to landfill.
The facility has its own testing laboratory that checks the key parameters of both incoming and outgoing waste in order to verify that they meet permit standards.
There are plans to acquire full ownership of Bisenzio Ambiente through subsequent steps that will result in a gradual increase in the interest held by Estra.
The acquisition of the equity interest in Bisenzio Ambiente is a further sign of the commitment by Estra and its shareholder Consiag to strengthening Estra Group's management of the waste cycle, following on the acquisition of Ecolat and of the interest in SEI Toscana, the environmental services manager for South Tuscany. In addition, Estra recently acquired a 15% interest in ECOS, a special waste services provider of which it is set to acquire full ownership by 2023.
“As the group holding company, Consiag is also tasked with fostering and promoting the industrial development of its holdings, including Estra. Investing in Bisenzio Ambiente allows the Group to expand its industrial prospects for operations in service of the local communities and of its shareholders: a one-of-its-kind facility in Italy that will yield numerous benefits for local companies that produce special waste and that through public ownership will permit purification to be managed in a fully safe manner for the community,” commented Nicola Perini, Sole Director of Consiag and Chairman of Bisenzio Ambiente. “This area needs an adequate set of facilities to become competitive and self-sufficient through the integration of the existing industrial players. As Director of Consiag, which holds interests in Publiacqua, Alia and Gida, among other companies, it is my hope that this sets in motion a series of combinations between municipally-owned companies in the area, thus laying the foundation for greater investment in order to offer increasingly efficient services and improve the growth prospects of the local economy. This is the challenge faced by the local public system in our vast area.”
“This deal,” commented Paolo Abati, Estra’s General Manager, “allows us to strengthen our role as industrial partner in managing services for our communities, while ensuring the capacity, administrative efficiency and resources required to guarantee standards of quality, safety and transparency. We place ourselves at the service of the communities in which we operate with the goal of restoring public governance of a very delicate service within the waste cycle: special waste management. This is an important deal that fits seamlessly into the Group’s green environmental protection and sustainability objectives.”
“The deal just concluded,” commented Paolo Ciervo, Chief Executive Officer of Bisenzio Ambiente, “is a good example of what virtuous synergy between the private sector and state-owned companies can do for our community. Often these two economic systems are seen as in conflict with one another, with the public sector weighting down private enterprises. It is thus a cause of both pleasure and pride to be involved in a business relationship that since its outset lays this prejudice to rest.”
“Estra and Consiag are once again leading the way with important investments. This transaction ensures integrated waste management. Given the very limited number of facilities in the area, the public sector has decided to invest in one of them in order to make our area more competitive,” stressed Matteo Biffoni, President of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) for Tuscany. “Moreover, Bisenzio Ambiente is well placed to collaborate with other similar companies in special waste management.”
“This transaction is the result of a lengthy, complex process that has now come to a positive conclusion,” reiterated Emiliano Fossi, Mayor of Campi Bisenzio. “Those who govern are responsible for their communities and must be able to meet their needs. The Florence metro area is the beating heart of Tuscany’s economy, and therefore there was clearly need of this facility. It is the result of an understanding reached by private companies with an enlightened vision of enterprise and public entities that have proved attentive to the local community’s needs.”