Chemical company Ercros plans to invest €40.4m ($48.2m) in its factories in Tarragona as part of its 3D Plan, which aims to transform the company into a sustainable entity. The plan includes 20 major projects, with 14 to be carried out in Tarragona. The investments will focus on decarbonisation, digitalisation, and diversification, with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions, increasing automation, and improving environmental performance. Ercros expects to invest a total of €92m by 2029 and generate an additional €194m in EBITDA. The company's Tarragona factories employ 474 people and generated €284m in sales in 2020.
Tarragona - Ercros plans to invest 40.4 million euros in its factories in Tarragona, within the framework of the 3D Plan. This figure will exceed 65 million, if other investments in execution or pending administrative authorization are added.
The 3D Plan is the strategic plan started up by Ercros, which pursues its transformation into a sustainable company and is based on three dimensions: Diversification, Digitalisation and Decarbonisation. This plan contains 20 major projects, 14 of which will be carried out in Tarragona. The timeframe of the plan is the period 2021-2025, although the execution of several digitalisation and decarbonisation projects will go beyond this period and will extend until 2029. For the period 2021-2029, Ercros foresees a total investment of 92 million euros and the generation of an additional ebitda of 194 million euros.
The 40.4 million to be invested in Tarragona are distributed as follows:
- 85% will be allocated to nine decarbonisation projects, which will reduce all direct CO2 emissions from the five factories in Tarragona by 35% (vs 2020);
- 13% will go to four digitalisation projects; and
- The remaining 2% will go to a large diversification project.
Carrying out the 14 actions will reinforce the sustainability of Ercros’ project in Tarragona, by promoting the diversification of the activity, increasing the automation of the processes, and improving the environmental performance of the facilities.
In the last 14 years (2007-2020), Ercros has invested 163.1 million euros in its factories in Tarragona.
The 3D Plan succeeds the Act Plan (2016-2020), for adaptation to technological change, which involved the modernization of Ercros's production structure and the incorporation of important energy efficiency improvements.
Ercros owns five factories in Tarragona. Those of Flix, Vila-seca I, Vila-seca II and Tarragona in the chlorine derivatives division; and Tortosa, in the intermediate chemicals division. These centres directly employ 474 persons and in 2020 billed 284 million euros. 38% of sales went to export.