DAS Environmental Expert GmbH wants to expand its global presence. In doing so, the Dresden-based company is keeping a close eye on emerging markets in particular, in order to be able to offer suitable products and technologies there if required and to sustainably open up new, growing and potentially interesting markets.

During a visit today, Saxony’s Minister of Economics Martin Dulig convinced himself of the efficiency of the Saxon company. The Foreign Trade Initiative Saxony supports the DAS Environmental Expert GmbH is expanding its activities on international markets. Thus the Dresden-based company launched an initiative in Peru together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Eschborn.

Turnover generated almost entirely abroad

The DAS Environmental Expert GmbH already belongs to the particularly export-strong Saxon companies. Dresden environmental technology specialists serve customers worldwide. They deliver a large number of their plants abroad and thus generate a 96 per cent share of total sales. The company has branches in Taiwan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Argentina and the USA.

“Peru has experienced a great economic boom in the last 10 years. Rising tax revenues and a generally transparent legal framework lead to a much-improved investment climate,” says DAS Managing Director Dr Horst Reichardt. This means that a positive development can also be expected in the wastewater sector: “Due to the new laws on the discharge of municipal and industrial wastewater (VMA), tens of thousands of companies would have to have their wastewater treated. In addition, the Peruvian government is planning investments of one billion US dollars in the wastewater sector. That’s why we want to offer our services and facilities there.”

Since September 2013, new legal regulations have been in force in Peru, according to which municipalities and companies are obliged to treat their wastewater according to maximum permissible values. This would be a major step forward. After all, water is a precious commodity in this dry region.

Dresden environmental specialists support the training of wastewater technicians

At present, however, there are still major problems with proper sewage disposal in Peru. This is also due to the fact that the South American country lacks both qualified sewage technicians and modern treatment technologies to carry out professional wastewater treatment and comply with the new maximum values, reports Romina Laumann from GIZ: “In Peru, three-quarters of the wastewater is still discharged untreated into the sea and rivers, with dramatic consequences for the health of the population and for the environment.

Within the framework of “develoPPP.de”, a programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), DAS Environmental Expert and GIZ have therefore joined forces in a development partnership to train and further educate wastewater and environmental technicians in Peru. “We are convinced that the treatment of wastewater can be significantly improved with the help of training centres,” emphasises René Reichardt, Head of the Water Treatment Division at DAS Environmental Expert GmbH.

Wastewater technicians in Peru learn at DAS plants

To ensure the sustainability of the project, the know-how provided, the teaching material and the proper use of the experimental facilities are continuously passed on to local teaching staff. “The equipment co-financed by DAS Environmental Expert GmbH, especially the experimental facilities, will remain in the training centres even after the end of the project”, explains René Reichardt. “The future wastewater technicians will also learn to operate plants for the disposal of industrial wastewater correctly, to optimise investment and operating costs sustainably and to use operating resources in a resource-saving manner”.

Cooperation with local educational institutions would be helpful to present the Dresden environmental specialists and their disposal technologies, some of which are little known in Peru, and to inspire confidence on the ground. If the project is successful, DAS plans to develop the market independently with a local partner.

In South America, the Dresden-based company currently has a branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, DAS also operates an extensive wastewater disposal system for a beverage manufacturer. Another plant is located at a large dairy in Montevideo, Uruguay.