Thermal spas : another area of expertise for Elcimaï
With only one French city among the eleven spa towns recently designated as World Heritage Sites, and with Jean Castex having just appointed an interministerial coordinator to revitalize the spa industry, is there cause for concern that the spa sector in France is losing momentum ?…
The prospect of new opportunities
The Elcimaï Group, on the contrary, sees this as an opportunity for new prospects. “While the health crisis has certainly forced establishments to close, the government’s commitment to revitalizing the thermal spa industry through an investment plan will offer many of them the possibility of new developments,” predicts Flavien Penetro, Head of Business Development at Elcimaï Environnement.
The Elcimaï Group’s professional real estate and environmental, industrial, and logistics consulting division is also recognized for its expertise, which is now particularly cutting-edge in the field, following the acquisition of CODEF Ingénierie. This expertise stems, in part, from the experience of its dedicated team in overseeing the operations of thermal spas, and primarily from over thirty years of sustained activity in the sector. This team has, in fact, been involved in both renovation and new construction projects at more than half of France’s thermal spas, managing mineral waters with a wide variety of properties : sulfurous, chlorinated, and so on.
This experience, accumulated since 1985, allows us to track the ongoing evolution of the professions and practices within the thermal spa industry. The engineers in Elcimaï’s thermal division remain attentive to the experiences of operators who face, on a daily basis, the challenges of their water’s behavior and its interaction with the materials used in the plumbing systems and treatment areas.
New Technical Solutions
Thermalism is an industry where, for the vast majority of sites, outdated equipment is used while operating under tight financial constraints. However, the latest technical solutions developed by Elcimaï’s experts are paving the way for the future of thermalism :
- Precisely matching water consumption to the treatments provided and managing leakage rates.
- Developing technical solutions to maintain the sanitary quality of distributed water, with storage systems that are more efficient and safer than those in traditional thermal facilities.
- Work on controlling energy consumption is a major challenge for these facilities, which will need to comply with the next phase of thermal regulations. In this regard, thermodynamic building simulations indicate the potential for very significant improvements, which is encouraging. Several sites have seen their energy bills drastically reduced thanks to energy recovery systems (for treatment water, wastewater, etc.).
Given its longstanding presence at thermal sites, the team at Elcimaï’s thermal division also supports its clients and project owners in developing thermal recreation, leisure, and wellness activities by leveraging its expertise in specific mineral waters and thermal pool water treatment—knowledge reinforced by the June 2000 regulations, which require the absence of germs, including in communal pools, circulation pools, and immersion showers.
While the hygiene and reliability of the facilities are the cornerstones of the team’s expertise, environmental considerations and energy efficiency are ever-present.
Some notable projects :
- Renovation of the La Roche-Posay Thermal Center (2021)
- Berthemont-les-Bains Thermal Center (2016)
- New thermal spa in Balaruc-les-Bains (2015)
- Chevalley Thermal Baths in Aix-les-Bains (2002)