Cocal do Sul, Brazil, June 23--Over the past five years, Eliane Revestimentos Ceramicos, one of Brazil's leading ceramic tile manufacturers,has invested US$3.5 million in the treatment of liquid effluents, emissions control, and solid residues management.
The company reuses 60% of the solid residues and through the implementation of waste selective collection it stopped throwing out 15 million tons/month of paper and cardboard.
The treatment stations process 400 m2/hour of effluents, 80% reused during the process. Eliane was the ceramic company first in the world to be granted the ISSO 14001 in 1997.
The company turned over R$439 million in 2002, 18% more than in the previous period, when it ranked 3rd. It forecasts a gross earning of 500 million this year.
In 2002, the domestic sales amounted to R$304 million, 13% higher than the 2001. In the external market, Eliane sales increased by 20%, amounting to R$135 million. In 2002, the company produced 38 million m2 of ceramic, a volume 10% higher than the produced in 2001.
