TEXAID Bulgaria – our sorting plant in Sofia

Since 2005, 70 employees in Bulgaria's capital Sofia sort and sell roughly 3,000 tons of the used clothes from TEXAID collections. TEXAID holds a share of 70 percent in TEXAID Bulgaria.

The capacity of the two Swiss TEXAID sorting facilities in Shattdorf and Zurich is sufficient for the processing of about 2/3 of the current collection amount. Instead of selling the majority of the unsorted goods to foreign competing companies, TEXAID delivers them to the two subsidiaries in Bulgaria and Hungaria, who are able to operate very competitively due to the economically advantageous locations.

Of course all the TEXAID Bulgaria staff are employed under fair conditions, which generously surmount the conditions specified in the Bulgarian Labour and Employment Law.

In addition to own second hand shops the sorting plant also supplies local retail and wholesale and exports part of the goods. TEXAID Bulgaria operates so successfully that the administrative board of TEXAID has given the green light for the construction of a new sorting plant in Sofia. The investment volume amounts to three million Swiss francs.

Link to TEXAID Bulgaria...

ALGOTEXTIL − textile sorting plant and cleaning rag production in Hungary

On 2 September 2010 the starting signal for the new textile sorting plant in North Hungarian Bélapátfalva was given. Thus the TEXAID subsidiary Algotextil, so far specialized in cleaning rag production, has expanded its range of activities with modern and efficient textile recycling. The investment of roughly 1.8 million Swiss francs added more than 50 new jobs to the 30 already existing in the cleaning rag production.

In the presence of Dr. Zsolt Nyitrai, state secretary of the Hungarian National Ministry of Development, the new sorting plant in Bélapátfalva (near the district capital Eger) was inaugurated on 2 September 2010. The 50 additional employees in the modern sorting facility will help absorbing the capacity constraints of the plant in Schattdorf/UR. The Eastern European and former Soviet region with its increasing demand is one of the main markets for reusable clothing and home textiles. «The location of the new sorting plant allows an optimal adjustment of the sorting to the needs in nearby countries like Ukraine,» says Alexander Goller, general manager of Algotextil.

Investments in the future

TEXAID has a share of 70 percent in the existing company Algotextil. The remaining 30 percent belong to Alexander Goller, who successfully established the cleaning rag production. The new sorting plant was supported by the European Union and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The total investment costs for TEXAID's new mainstay amount to 1.8 million francs. Unlike in Schattdorf, the sorting is done conventionally using conveyor belts and tables without computerized voice control.

 

Generous conditions of employment

The conditions of employment are much better than required according to valid Hungarian employment and social legislation. In addition to salaries being 20 percent higher than customary on average the employees get luncheon vouchers, grants for internet and telephone and contributions to their children's school fees. In 2007 the company was awarded for its exemplary personnel management.