North America
Rachel Beckwith’s Birthday Wish: Clean Water
In July, KING5 TV, The Seattle Times and CNN-affiliate KOMO in Washington reported the tragic story of nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith, who died before fulfilling her charity wish. For her last birthday (in June), she gave everything she could to a charity that provides clean water to developing countries. Rachel had requested donations in lieu of personal gifts. Her goal was to raise $300 (USD) for charity: water but at the time of her death, she was $80 short.
When Scott Harrison, Founder of charity: water, learned that Rachel had died, he reactivated Rachel’s original fundraising page and donated the $80 still needed. (He previously had used his own 34th and 35th birthdays as deadlines to raise funds.) Eastlake Community Church in Bothell, which Rachel attended, also announced her fundraiser on their website, Facebook and Twitter. The donations started pouring in, raising the total to about $1,000 the first night. But it didn’t end there. While the local news station and papers provided updates, CNN, msnbc.com and NBC Nightly News carried the story, as did The Sydney Morning Herald and other global media outlets. A tide of donations soon followed and, as of August 4, $804,949 from 22,360 donors had been received, with 17 days left in the campaign.
In response to the story, the Wishing Well International Foundation set up its own drive for Rachel’s cause that will continue through the end of the year. “It is time for the entire water purification industry to show we care about the people lacking such a precious resource, water, like this little girl did. I am aware that economic times are uncertain for many companies, but if we pull together, I know we can make a difference. After all, that is what we are all about, providing clean, safe drinking water,” said Guillermo Guzman, Founder and CEO of Wishing Well International and President of H2O International, Inc., based in Deerfield Beach, FL.
“If 100 of us each raised $300 (Rachel’s goal), we would meet the goal set by the Foundation. If Rachel thought this was achievable, I am sure we can do the same and more. Membership of the Water Quality Association stands at 2,400 with many thousands more non-member water industry professionals; the impact we can make as an industry is huge,” added Guzman, whose company is a member of the Water Quality Association.
To learn more about the Foundation and its activities, visit www.wishingwellintl.org, which includes a link to Rachel’s fundraising page. To donate and join Rachel’s dream, go directly to www.active.com/donate/Rachelsdream. All donations are tax deductible.
Santa Clarita softener ban enforcement news
The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District has mailed approximately 2,500 letters to residents suspected of having illegal automatic water softeners as part of an enforcement program by the District to rid the community of banned automatic water softeners and to decrease the cost to the community of complying with State mandates through the Regional Water Quality Control Board for chloride (salt) in the District’s discharge to the Santa Clara River. Residents who still have illegal automatic water softeners have 30 days to apply for a rebate and an additional 30 days, after the receipt of an Authorization for Rebate letter, to remove the unit. For residents who received an enforcement letter and no longer have an illegal automatic water softener, they will have 30 days to complete a questionnaire and return it to the District. Home inspections will be conducted for residents that do not respond to the enforcement letters. If automatic water softeners are found, residents will be issued Notices of Violation and may be fined $1,000. For more information, visit www.lacsd.org/chloride or call 1-877-CUT-SALT.
Second quarter financial news
Directors of Pentair, Inc declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents ($0.20) per share payable August 12 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 29. The company reported sales of $910 million (USD), an increase of 14 percent from the same quarter last year. Water sales grew 15 percent year-over-year to $632 million. Residential Flow sales were up seven percent versus the prior year quarter, while Residential Filtration sales were up 12 percent, reflecting increased distribution and new products in fast growth regions, especially Latin America and China. Filtration Solutions sales increased 86 percent year-over-year. Technical Products delivered sales of $278 million, an increase of 13 percent.
Watts Water Technologies, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of 11 cents ($0.11) per share on the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock payable on September 2 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 22. The company reported second quarter sales of $375.7 million, an increase of 16 percent versus the second quarter of 2010, primarily from acquisitions and favorable foreign exchange. Second quarter net income decreased 42 percent. Watts also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
Calgon Carbon Corporation reported net income of $11.3 million for the second quarter, as compared to net income of $2.9 million for the second quarter of 2010. Net sales were $135.3 million, a 9.5-percent increase over the comparable period in 2010. Sales for the Activated Carbon and Service segment increased 10.1 percent, as compared to the second quarter of 2010. Calgon’s Board of Directors did not declare a quarterly dividend.
Aquionics and Dot Metrics sign JDA
UV disinfection specialist Aquionics has signed a Joint Development Agreement with LED expert Dot Metrics Technologies (Charlotte, NC) to develop a new line of UV-LED disinfection products. Dot Metrics is a small company associated with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It focuses on UV LED systems development for disinfection of water, air and surfaces.
MIOX selected for NM resort
MIOX Corporation has been selected to install two AE-4 on-site disinfection generators to sanitize the pools, spas and outdoor hot tub at Sandia Resort and Casino, Pueblo of Sandia, NM. Currently employing a salt system, Sandia Resort and Casino will be upgrading to further improve the quality of the water and the consistency of the chemistry. Guest safety and satisfaction as well as cost of operation and ease of maintenance were cited as being instrumental in the decision to switch.
ITT to acquire YSI
ITT Corporation and privately held YSI Incorporated have entered into a definitive agreement for ITT to acquire YSI via merger. YSI is a developer and manufacturer of sensors, instruments, software and data collection platforms for environmental water monitoring. The financial terms of the proposal were not disclosed. YSI had 2010 global revenues of $101 million (USD) and employs 390 people at several facilities in the US, Europe and Asia. Completion of the acquisition is expected in the third quarter 2011, pending customary closing conditions and approval from YSI’s shareholders.
Latin America
Pall expansion in Brazil announced
Pall Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire its long-time Brazilian distribution partner, Engefiltro, which will strengthen Pall’s capabilities to support customers in the fast-growing Latin American market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in the state of Sao Paulo, Engefiltro is certified to ISO 9001 quality standards and also has sophisticated filtration systems engineering capabilities. This expertise increases Pall’s regional capabilities in design, construction and servicing of sophisticated fluid management systems for customers in the life sciences and industrial markets throughout Latin America. Customers can continue to work with their normal contacts at Engefiltro at +55 11 4053-2670 or visit www.engefiltro.com.br/.
KMS reuse case study completed
Koch Membrane Systems has completed a case study detailing the Aquapolo Ambiental project, the largest wastewater reuse project in the Southern Hemisphere, and the fifth largest of its kind in the world. Aquapolo was created to address new regulations to restrict industrial use of potable water in São Paulo, Brazil. Upon completion, this groundbreaking facility will free up enough drinking water to continuously supply a population of 350,000 inhabitants, with the potential capacity to reach 600,000. The new facility will employ KMS’ innovative PURON™ MBR technology as well as MegaMagnum® RO membranes. Construction started in April 2010; the water treatment portion of the project is following an aggressive schedule for start-up in November.
Middle East
Dow to invest in manufacturing facility
The Dow Chemical Company announced plans to invest in a best-in-class manufacturing facility for DOW FILMTEC™ reverse osmosis (RO) elements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The proposed facility would deliver local supply security of cutting-edge technologies for water desalination and water re-use for potable, non-potable and industrial water serving Saudi Arabia, the surrounding Middle East and North Africa region and emerging markets worldwide. Additionally, these water membrane technologies will deliver cost-savings through reduced energy usage and superior operational efficiencies for customers in desalination, industrial, municipal, commercial and residential sectors.