Harleysville, Pa.-based Met-Pro Corp. announced second quarter sales were $18.6 million vs. $18.3 million for the same period last year. First half sales totaled $35.6 million vs. $34.5 million last year. ?
Tenergy Water, of New Britain, Conn., has introduced its new Standard Equipment Catalog that provides customers with detailed information on various standard products including media and carbon filters, water softeners, ion exchangers, electrodeionization units, reverse osmosis systems, nanofiltration systems and clean-in-place systems. ?
Finland-based Kemira has taken a significant step forward in its water treatment business by expanding the present holdings in the U.S.-based Kemiron Inc. from 15 percent to 60 percent. As part of the agreement, Kemira is obligated to buy the remaining 40 percent of shares. Kemiron has annual sales of $90 million and 250 employees. ?
An on-site sodium hypochlorite generating system from USFilter Wallace & Tiernan Products has received certification for use in drinking water systems by NSF International. The NSF Standard 61 certificate is a nationally recognized standard for all materials, components and equipment that contact drinking water. ?
McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and Black & Veatch received notice to proceed with delivery of the 80-million-gallon-per-day Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant in Phoenix. The project is scheduled for startup and finished-water delivery in February 2007. ?
Denver-based American Water Works Association received $1 million in federal funding to expand its broad range of security and emergency response training programs. ?
Trojan Technologies Inc., of London, Ontario, was awarded a contract, valued at over $700,000, to supply advanced ultraviolet drinking water disinfection equipment to the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Trojan systems will treat 40 million gallons of water a day. ?
Düsseldorf, Germany-based WEDECO UV Systems plc was selected on behalf of Yorkshire Water Services to supply a UV wastewater disinfection system for Withernsea STW on the east coast of England. Withernsea STW is treating the wastewater of nearly 15,000 residents and visitors to the town. ?
Holliday Water Company in Utah and the town of Crested Butte, Colo., have selected East Hills, N.Y.-based Pall Corp.’s water treatment system. The system at Holliday filters spring water is under the influence of surface water at flows up to 2.5 million gallons of water per day. ?
Austin, Texas-based Layton announced that its wastewater course is now available in conversational Spanish. The 15-lesson course includes three 100-question certification exams. Software users are in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama and Saudi Arabia. ?
The Consumer Water Group of Livermore, Calif.-based Ionics Inc. announced the expansion of its platinum dealership program. The company will now finance its own dealers nationwide. The elimination of third-party financing is intended to benefit dealers since fewer sales will be lost due to an inability to secure financing.?
Tropical Beverage Inc., of Santa Ana, Calif., has launched its Essential O2 oxygenated water in the southern California market. Essential O2 is purified water with extra oxygen infused into the water. ?
Vermont Pure Holdings Ltd., of Randolph, Vt., announced results for its third quarter and nine months ending July 31, 2003. Total sales for the third quarter increased 4 percent to $22.5 million from $21.6 million the previous year.?
One in 5 homes has disease
The organism that can cause pneumonia-like Legionnaires’ disease may be present in one out of five residential water systems, according to data released in mid-September. Dr. Janet Stout, of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and a past contributor to WC&P, told Reuters Health that 35 cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported to health departments in Ohio (15 cases) and Pennsylvania (20 cases) between January 2002 and March 2003. In every case, the water came from a public supply. All the patients who came down with the disease had pre-existing conditions that made them vulnerable. These included cancer, advanced age, and treatment with corticosteroids. In the household water systems where Legionella was found, the study group performed “a super-heated flush,” where the water temperatures were increased to about 140 degrees with all of the taps opened between 30 to 40 minutes. In most cases, this completely eliminated the organism. Because the Legionella will return, the group recommended that a super-heated flush be performed about every two to three months. A temperature of 125-130 degrees should also be maintained. Individuals with a compromised immune system or other risk factors are also advised to boil water before drinking, or use a water filtration system with a small enough pore size, 0.2 micron, to prevent the bacteria from appearing in the water. The study was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
WHO expands NSF designation
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based NSF International has received designation from the World Health Organization (WHO) as a WHO collaborating center for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment. NSF is the only organization worldwide so far to earn this four-year designation. As a WHO collaborating center, NSF provides WHO and its member states with expertise on food safety, drinking water safety and treatment technology, and now with indoor environment guidance. NSF received the latter designation because of the organi-zation’s abilities in three key areas—its independent, not-for-profit status; its global presence, and its proven track record in supporting WHO in the past. According to new CEO Kevan Lawlor, NSF is currently planning a conference in the United States on developing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) application for drinking water operations. In other news, NSF launched its first brand awareness campaign in the 60-year history of the company in early October. NSF began encouraging consumers and business owners to “Live safer” beginning with a series of print advertisements in national publications from The Wall Street Journal to Sports Illustrated, created by Minneapolis-based advertising agency Olson + Company. In addition to the print campaign, a website redesign and other initiatives are under way to promote the NSF brand.
Sprite gets exposed on PBS
Sprite Industries, of Corona, Calif., will sponsor the upcoming “Building A Dream Home” television series. Scheduled to air this fall, the series is in its ninth season on PBS and will follow the transformation of an existing 4,000-square-foot home in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., into a state-of-the-art home. The broadcast featuring the company will air across the country while reaching 230 markets in the United States and millions more via satellite in Canada and other countries. The home, with three bedrooms to be renovated, will each feature a different filtered shower product from the company. Topics will discuss the proper application, use, installation, benefits, and maintenance of the shower filters.
AdEdge launches newsletter
AdEdge Technologies Inc., of Buford, Ga., has released the first issue of Adedge Forum, a newsletter designed to give readers updates on recent arsenic-related issues as well as company news. News will include legislative issues impacting arsenic treatment, news about arsenic findings, new product announcements, tips, and educational sections for company dealers and distributors.
Sensicore gains capital
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Sensicore Inc. has completed its current round of equity financing with the addition of a $4.5 million investment from Technology Partners, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif. Sensicore had previously closed on $6.5 million of new equity investment in July from a consortium lead by NGEN Partners, of Santa Barbara, Calif., bringing the total investment to $11 million. Sensicore has developed a lab-on-a-chip, multi-sensor device for water testing and monitoring for a wide variety of water and wastewater applications from potable water, wastewater and environmental monitoring to industrial process control.
Dealership changes hands
Chesapeake Utilities Corp.’s water business unit has sold the assets of its Boise, Idaho location of the Intermountain Water EcoWater dealership to Health Preservation Waters LLC, of St. Cloud, Minn. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chesapeake previously sold the Moscow, Idaho location of Intermountain Water on July 31. The Boise dealership will continue to serve customers in Ada, Canyon, Boise, Gem, Owyhee, Elmore, Payette, Washington Valley, Gooding, Camas, Blame and Adams counties. Intermountain Water will still provide free water analysis and a full range of water solutions, and the company can be reached at (208) 375-1222.
Scholarships get pumped out
Fourteen students—all sons and daughters of owners and employees of professional independent water systems dealers throughout North America—will be attending colleges of their choice this fall with financial help from Goulds Pumps-ITT Industries. Each of the students was awarded a $1,000 education scholarship given recently by the Seneca Falls, NY-based water systems manufacturer. The scholarships are given each year to college-bound dependent children of Goulds Professional Dealer Association members and their employees, regardless of the child’s planned academic area of concentration at any two- or four-year institution. This year’s winners are: Megan Houle, Lindsay Best, Richard Nash, Jonathan King, Gail Nicholson, Michelle Kemp, Lauren Bowman, Heather Sherman, Sarah Van Dyken, Erin West, Brandon Reimers, Emily Kjelstad, Ryan Abbott and Clint Hopper.
Looking for thirsty Marines
Mountain Safety Research (MSR), of Seattle, has announced that the Office of Naval Research placed an order for 1,000 of its Miox water purifiers for the U.S. Marines. This purchase will join that of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which has received an order for an additional 7,000 purifiers to U.S. troops. At a weight of over 8 pounds per gallon, and a three-day mission requirement of three gallons, lugging water around is a burden for the modern soldier. The purifier is a lightweight, handheld device about the size of a magic marker that uses electricity to convert common table salt and water into a powerful disinfectant. This portable purifier uses electrolysis and mixed-oxidant technology at the proper doses to reduce common water pathogens such as E. coli, Giardia and Cryptosporidium as well as other agents like VX nerve gas, Soman, the blister agent Lewisite, and the biological agents causing anthrax, plague, the smallpox surrogate (vaccinia) and tularemia (see related story by David H. Paul this issue). Development and commercialization of the purifier was a joint effort between MSR and Miox Corp., an Albuquerque, N.M.-based manufacturer of mixed-oxidant water purification technology. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded the initial development.
Liquatec gains distributors
Liquatec has expanded its distribution base with four newly appointed master distributors. They are Farris Enterprises, of Corona, Calif.; Coast Filtration, of Brea, Calif.; Water Tec International, of Tucson, Ariz., and Hantech Corp., of Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Liquatec manufactures a complete line of products specializing in sediment filters, carbon block filters, flow meters and many other components. The company also has many products such as filter housings, pressure vessels, membrane housings, pressure gauges and needle valves. Additional distributors are still being sought.
Bottle caps cause recall
An Atlanta company recalled 3.2 million bottles of water in mid-September after receiving 10 complaints of caps unexpectedly coming off and posing a choking hazard to young children. CCDA Waters LLC—a joint venture of Coca-Cola, Groupe Danone and Danone Holdings—received no reports of injuries from the push-pull caps, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported. The water was sold singly and in multi-packs in 8-oz., 8.5-oz. and .33-liter sizes under the brand names Dannon Fluoride to Go, Pure American, Enon Springs, Alhambra Junior Sport Drinking Water and Sparkletts Junior Sport Drinking Water. Gas stations and grocery, convenience and drug stores and other such retail outlets sold the water from March 2002 until September for 59 cents to $3.29. Consumers can return the water to the store of purchase for a refund. For more information, call (800) 322-4616.
International
Graduates complete course
Recently, the graduating class of Aquathin University held its ceremonies in Lisbon, Portugal. Attending the event were various company’s authorized dealers for Portugal, England, Ireland and Scotland. Aquathin University is a three-day training course with an in-depth study of the various water problems confronting consumers; the general technologies available to treat these water problems; how the company has taken these technologies and made them more sophisticated and user friendly in its patented products, and concluded it with a sales/marketing/organizational skills recap. Aquathin University classes are held every two months at Aquathin Corp. USA, of Pompano Beach, Fla., with several international meetings during the year. See www.aquathin.com for more details.
ZENON, Maytag agree to deal
Oakville, Ontario, Canada-based ZENON Environmental Inc. has agreed to allow Maytag Canada to distribute the former’s Homespring ultrafiltration unit in Canadian consumer residential retail channels. The brand was to be launched under the Maytag brand name in stores across Canada in early September, and all appliance centers in October. Maytag will provide installation and maintenance of the units.
ELGA opens new facility
ELGA Process Water, of Great Britain—the industrial process water division of Veolia Environnement—has opened its new media conditioning center and production facility at Stoke-on-Trent. The multi-million pound investment provides new production and support resources including a clean room assembly area for ultrapure systems and factory acceptance test facilities for pre-validated packaged plants like Orion and Osiris. The Stoke facility is fully ISO9001 accredited and will operate the comprehensive quality assurance procedures that the company’s industrial and health care customers require.
Water paid with debit card
Philippines-based WorldWater Inc., a subsidiary of WorldWater Corp., and the municipality of Ronda, Cebu, Philippines, inaugurated the world’s first solar-powered, prepaid municipal water distribution system on Sept. 27. Former Philippines President Fidel Ramos was the keynote speaker. For the first time, a municipal water distribution system will utilize smart card technology as a financing solution for community water production and remove problems associated with the payment collection process. The Ronda system uses World Water’s AquaCard (smart card) debit system, which operates directly with the company’s solar pumping stations throughout the community.