The prestigious international tennis and padel academy begins its expansion plan, prioritizing a plan of good environmental practices.

Integrados manufactures products with 100% recycled plastic wood, with a team of workers with disabilities.

JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy organized the presentation of the Academy’s medium-term expansion project, placing special emphasis on its collaboration with integrated companies. The act started with Juan Carlos Ferrero, who welcomed the participants and expressed his joy for the future collaboration and development of the Academy. Then, Iñaki Etxegia, director of the Academy, explained its future plans, including the most immediate: expansion of the padel and tennis complex, expansion of the residence for players and a hotel for guests, among others.

The Academy, which has been training great figures in professional tennis for more than 25 years, continues its constant search for self-improvement and that of its students, prioritizing education in values. For this reason, it has been recognized by SICTED as a Center for Tourism Quality and has developed a specific plan to reduce waste, pollution and optimization of resources in collaboration with different associations, whose objectives and values ​​they share with those of the academy. This is the case of the Villena Integrated Special Employment Center.

This is how they have presented in their facilities, the collaboration with ‘Integrados’, which they have helped to develop a new line of benches, made of 100% recycled plastic wood, which are ideal for tennis and padel courts both indoors and outdoors, where they offer more than 12 years of duration guarantee. The raw material is non-recyclable plastics (until now) which they transform into a product with high added value (plastic wood), giving them a new use and extending their useful life for a long time.

‘Set’, ‘Juego’, ‘Break’, ‘Deuce’ and ‘Ventaja’ are some of the exclusive bench models that Integrated have designed and manufactured in collaboration with the adapted to the needs of its players: custom structure, backrest and armrests, customizing all the details. Some benches whose designs will be replicated so that the rest of the clubs and tennis schools that wish can purchase them for their facilities. The Academy has already purchased 30 benches that it has helped design. With this action it was possible to avoid burying or burning 2500kg of plastic waste.

For Alejandro Juan, coordinator of the plastic wood area of ​​Integrados, he pointed out in the presentation that “this collaboration represents a very important boost to publicize our project at a national and even international level, since it can help us convert many kg of plastic waste in high-value products and to generate employment for people with disabilities. For us it is a pride to work with entities such as the Equelite Academy since we share values ​​such as perseverance, effort, respect for the environment and commitment to people.

For its part, Equelite, led by Juan Carlos Ferrero, highlighted that “the Integrados project is wonderful. An example of social commitment: offering work to people with disabilities while creating a very good product, durable, practical and adapted to the needs. Supporting projects and people like this is an essential part of our roadmap. We want to continue growing as a high-performance Academy, but without losing our essence and values, which is what we believe allows our players to get the most out of them.”