Apex Tannery has decided to set up an in house effluent treatment plant to meet environmental rules and satisfy global buyers.

The listed leather maker approved the plan at a recent board meeting and disclosed it on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website according to The Business Standard

The project will cost Tk12 crore (~$980,000) and will be built at the company factory inside the Savar Leather Industrial Estate.

There is already a central effluent treatment plant at Savar but it cannot handle the full waste load from all factories. Because of this several companies are moving to set up their own plants to keep operations running smoothly.

Apex Tannery earlier received approval for its own ETP and is now going ahead with the investment.

The new facility will also include a chrome recovery plant and a sewerage treatment plant. It will cover around 12,000 to 15,000 square feet and will treat waste from every stage of production from wet blue to finished leather.

This move comes at a difficult time for the company.

Apex Tannery has posted losses for 3 straight financial years since FY23 and has not declared any dividend because of this.

In the July to September quarter revenue rose to Tk13.97 crore (~$1.14 million) from Tk12.91 crore (~$1.06 million) a year earlier but the company still reported a loss of Tk7.59 crore (~$620,000) with a loss per share of Tk4.98.

In short Apex Tannery is betting on environmental compliance to protect its future business even as financial pressure continues.