Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/133796
BUSINESS UK MBR SpEcIalISt acqUIREd By US fIltER gRoUp UK membrane bioreactor company Aquabio Ltd was acquired by US industrial filtration specialists Freudenberg group on 1 March 2013. Based in Hallow, Worcestershire, Aquabio is a leading specialist in water and wastewater reuse for large-scale industrial applications. Founded in 1997, the company has 16 employees, and designs and supplies turnkey membrane filtration systems for water and wastewater recycling. A core part of Freudenberg's liquid filtration business is to provide high technology nonwoven media as support carriers to membrane applications. "With the acquisition of Aquabio, the Freudenberg Group now has additional know-how in water filtration. This represents a further strategic step in the development of Freudenberg Filtration Technologies," stresses Dr Mohsen Sohi, speaker of the Freudenberg Group Management Board. Customers include well-known companies such as Alpro, Muller, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Steve Goodwin, managing director of Aquabio Ltd, who will continue to lead the UK based water treatment specialist, sees considerable market opportunities for Aquabio. As a global company, the Freudenberg Group will provide Aquabio with the opportunity to expand, especially internationally, in the food, beverage, paper, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Dr Andreas Kreuter of Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, explains: "Industrial companies are increasing their investment in water and wastewater filtration to preserve scarce resources and to fulfill exacting environmental regulations. Aquabio provides excellent cutting-edge filtration technology particularly for industrial wastewater recycling and reuse." ModERN WatER gEtS £ 9.5 MIllIoN fRoM ShaRE ISSUE Forward-osmosis (FO) and monitoring specialist Modern Water plc announced on 12 February 2013 that it had raised, subject to certain conditions, £ 10 million (approximately £ 9.5 million net of expenses) by way of a placing of 20,000,000 new Ordinary Shares with both new and existing institutional shareholders at a price of £ 0.50 per Ordinary Share. The proceeds of the issue will enable the company to pursue opportunities identified by its membrane division to commercialise its FO technology, particularly across China and the Middle East, and to also grow its monitoring business by licensing and acquiring innovative, proven products to leverage its international distribution network. fIBRoc pUMp oWNER BoUght By cEco ENvIRoNMENtal Air-pollution control specialist CECO Environmental Corp announced on 22 April 2013 that it was to acquire Met-Pro Corporation, provider of product recovery, pollution control, fluid handling and filtration solutions, including the Fibroc fiberglass reinforced plastic pumps used in desalination. CECO will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Met-Pro common stock in a cash and stock transaction valued at a total of approximately US$ 210 million, or US$ 13.75 per share. The completion of the acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions including the approval of the stockholders of both CECO and Met-Pro. The boards of directors of CECO and Met-Pro have unanimously approved the transaction. | 14 | Desalination & Water Reuse | May-June 2013 The management of both companies will remain in leadership positions with Jeff Lang as chief executive officer, Ray De Hont as chief operating officer and Neal Murphy as chief financial officer The combined company will have pro-forma revenues of approximately US$ 300 million, significantly enhanced liquidity for its shareholders and a strong balance sheet for continued strategic growth CEO Jeff Lang stated, "The combined businesses will offer a broader set of products and services through a truly end-to-end pollution control technology solution in an environment where customers are increasingly demanding comprehensive solutions from fewer vendors and service providers." "Importantly, the combined businesses will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on fast growing end markets and secular trends supported by increasingly stringent levels of pollution control regulation, increasing global energy demand, emerging market dynamics, most notably in China and India, and a lowcost natural gas environment, driving new plant construction in the US and globally," he added. NEW WEBSItE laUNchEd By dEgRéMoNt INdUStRy Industrial water-cycle specialist Degrémont Industry announced on 6 February 2013 that it is launching a new website. The new web portal, www.degremont-industry.com, is aimed at industrial companies in search of water treatment solutions. A real showcase for Degrémont Industry's business and technological solutions, the website is designed to answer companies' questions on issues ranging from water resources to sludge disposal. This new user-friendly and dynamic web portal has been designed and reworked to meet industrial companies' specific requirements. The subjects covered focus on their strategic issues, such as guaranteeing continuity of production, controlling costs and investments, improving productivity, optimising water and energy consumption and reducing environmental impacts. Developed using the innovative Responsive Web Design technology, the site adapts to different terminals (PC, smartphone, tablet computer), offering visitors an optimal browsing experience. Its ergonomic design allows a very interactive approach and integration of multimedia content (videos, graphics etc). MottMac BUyS Up SoUth afRIcaN ENgINEERINg fIRM Johannesburg-based engineering specialist PD Naidoo & Associates has been acquired by global engineering firm Mott MacDonald. Under a deal which will see the activities of the two companies in southern Africa come together to create an 800-person strong entity, the new Mott MacDonald PDNA business will provide a much extended, multi-sector capability for the entire sub-Saharan region. The move – subject to approval by the Competition Commission of South Africa – is the culmination of a highly successful working relationship built over several years and supports both firms' long-held growth aspirations in Africa. The proposed new practice will operate from 15 centres in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, providing multidisciplinary design, implementation and management services across the property and infrastructure, transport, water, industrial, mining, energy, communications, health and education sectors.