3
NEWS October 2012 Membrane Technology 3 In Brief Xylem is included in Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes US-based water technology company Xylem Inc has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index in its first year operating as a stand-alone com- pany. The firm is one of 340 companies rec- ognised on this year’s World Index and one of 140 companies on this year’s North America Index. ‘This is a major acknowledgement of all of the work we have done to advance sus- tainable business practices and solutions, and report our progress transparently over time,’ commented Gretchen McClain, President and Chief Executive Officer, Xylem. ItN Nanovation increases its capital Germany’s ItN Nanovation Ag, a portfolio company of Nanostart Ag that develops ceramic products, such as filter systems and coatings for major industrial customers, has successfully completed the capital increase announced during September. By placing 838 964 new shares among existing share- holders, a net amount of E1.2 million will flow into the company. This raises the share capital of ItN Nanovation to E11 832 766. The incoming funds will serve to strengthen the equity capital of the company. H 2 O Innovation reports record-high revenues Canadian water-treatment systems company H 2 O Innovation Inc’s fiscal 2012 results were marked by record-high revenues of C$35.9 mil- lion – mainly generated by its water treat- ment systems and equipment business sector. Revenues rose by 30% from C$27.6 million reported in fiscal 2011. The significant growth in the company’s revenues for 2012, compared with the previous financial year, is not reflected in gross profit. Its operations in fiscal 2012 gen- erated a deceiving 23.0% gross profit, compared with 29.5% in 2011. GE launches global mining business unit GE Transportation has unveiled its newest business unit, GE Mining, which is based in Brisbane, Australia. The announcement was made at MINExpo 2012 by Geoff Knox, Chief Executive Officer, GE Mining. ‘With mine operators re-balancing their investments to get more out of their existing assets, GE’s global mining business is well positioned to add value. We can help them maximise output through more efficient movement of their products, generate and distribute power more efficiently, and address their water management challenges,’ commented Knox. GE also recently simplified its energy business (see Membrane Technology September 2012, page 16). in this region has been carried out primarily using processes based on evaporation, but these require heavy use energy. The adoption of RO membrane plants has been limited because of the perception that systems based on this tech- nology are difficult to run. Contact: Toray Industries Inc, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, 1–1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8666, Japan. Tel: +81 3 3245 5111, www.toray.com Pall’s latest results reveal a solid fourth- quarter performance U S filtration, separation and puri- fication company Pall Corp has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended 31 July 2012. Larry Kingsley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pall, said: ‘We executed a solid fourth-quarter. We focused almost exclusively on restoring customer service levels and we have recovered from the ERP imple- mentation challenges in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012. As planned we also closed the transaction with Haemonetics (see Membrane Technology June 2012, page 1). We have taken action to ensure that we can achieve reason- able shareholder return in a choppy economic environment.’ Fourth-quarter sales were $783.7 million, compared with $780.4 million reported a year earlier – which represents an increase of 0.4% (or 6.1% in local currency terms). Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.73 in the quarter, compared with $0.82 recorded for the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted fourth- quarter EPS by $0.05. Commenting on these results, Kingsley con- tinued: ‘Our biopharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and aerospace markets all performed very well during the quarter. On a regional basis, the Americas had strong growth while Europe and Asia were flat. System sales were negative in the quarter as a function of a very large compari- son quarter in fiscal year 2011, our decision to pare certain unprofitable system sales and lower capital commitment in some markets.’ ‘Consumable orders were strong globally, with the exception of our industrial markets in Europe where orders declined 7% year-on-year.’ For the full year, sales increased by 5.9% com- pared with the previous year (6.9% in local cur- rency terms). Diluted EPS were $2.71, compared with $2.67, recorded for the equivalent period a year earlier, and. foreign currency translation had an immaterial impact on full-year EPS. Kingsley concluded: ‘I am pleased with our execution in the quarter in that we were able to restore customer confidence. However, we have much to do to demonstrate that we can execute in a manner that is industry-leading and that we can be proud of. Our team is working hard to enable our strategy and build the necessary busi- ness processes to deliver consistent performance.’ ‘As we look forward, the market environment is mixed. We anticipate challenges within our European industrial markets, slower than previ- ously expected global semiconductor end-mar- kets and moderating growth in some emerging markets. Other markets, though, will continue to grow in the current economic environment.’ ‘Our current assumptions are generally con- sistent with our third-quarter characterisation, which assumes low-single to mid-single digit local-currency sales growth. On that basis in 2013 we expect pro forma EPS in the $3.05– 3.25 range – reflecting 9–16% earnings per share growth. Included within our guidance is the assumption of 22–24 cents of adverse cur- rency associated impact.’ Contact: Pall Corp, 25 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050, USA. Tel: +1 516 484 5400, www.pall.com On-site gas generators help companies reduce operational costs A tlas Copco, an industrial group that manufactures and sells com- pressors, expanders and air-treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems, has introduced three different ranges of gas generators for on-site nitrogen and oxygen production. According to the company, these systems are designed to meet the highest purity standards and run economically in both large-scale and small-scale applications. It says that by using these generators companies can expand their existing compressed air installation to generate their own nitrogen and oxygen. An independ- ent supply of on-site gas can realise significant economies of scale and reduce operational costs. On-site gas generation is more sustainable and cost-efficient than gas delivered in cylinders or bulk liquid supply, because it eliminates the operational and administrative costs of order- ing, transporting, storing and delivering the

In Brief

  • Upload
    lammien

  • View
    218

  • Download
    1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: In Brief

NEWS

October 2012 Membrane Technology3

I n B r i e f

Xylem is included in Dow Jones Sustainability IndexesUS-based water technology company Xylem Inc has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index in its first year operating as a stand-alone com-pany. The firm is one of 340 companies rec-ognised on this year’s World Index and one of 140 companies on this year’s North America Index. ‘This is a major acknowledgement of all of the work we have done to advance sus-tainable business practices and solutions, and report our progress transparently over time,’ commented Gretchen McClain, President and Chief Executive Officer, Xylem.

ItN Nanovation increases its capital Germany’s ItN Nanovation Ag, a portfolio company of Nanostart Ag that develops ceramic products, such as filter systems and coatings for major industrial customers, has successfully completed the capital increase announced during September. By placing 838 964 new shares among existing share-holders, a net amount of E1.2 million will flow into the company. This raises the share capital of ItN Nanovation to E11 832 766. The incoming funds will serve to strengthen the equity capital of the company.

H2O Innovation reports record-high revenuesCanadian water-treatment systems company H2O Innovation Inc’s fiscal 2012 results were marked by record-high revenues of C$35.9 mil-lion – mainly generated by its water treat-ment systems and equipment business sector. Revenues rose by 30% from C$27.6 million reported in fiscal 2011. The significant growth in the company’s revenues for 2012, compared with the previous financial year, is not reflected in gross profit. Its operations in fiscal 2012 gen-erated a deceiving 23.0% gross profit, compared with 29.5% in 2011.

GE launches global mining business unit GE Transportation has unveiled its newest business unit, GE Mining, which is based in Brisbane, Australia. The announcement was made at MINExpo 2012 by Geoff Knox, Chief Executive Officer, GE Mining. ‘With mine operators re-balancing their investments to get more out of their existing assets, GE’s global mining business is well positioned to add value. We can help them maximise output through more efficient movement of their products, generate and distribute power more efficiently, and address their water management challenges,’ commented Knox. GE also recently simplified its energy business (see Membrane Technology September 2012, page 16).

in this region has been carried out primarily using processes based on evaporation, but these require heavy use energy. The adoption of RO membrane plants has been limited because of the perception that systems based on this tech-nology are difficult to run.

Contact:

Toray Industries Inc, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower,

1–1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

103-8666, Japan. Tel: +81 3 3245 5111, www.toray.com

Pall’s latest results reveal a solid fourth- quarter performance

US filtration, separation and puri-fication company Pall Corp has

reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended 31 July 2012.

Larry Kingsley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pall, said: ‘We executed a solid fourth-quarter. We focused almost exclusively on restoring customer service levels and we have recovered from the ERP imple-mentation challenges in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012. As planned we also closed the transaction with Haemonetics (see Membrane Technology June 2012, page 1). We have taken action to ensure that we can achieve reason-able shareholder return in a choppy economic environment.’

Fourth-quarter sales were $783.7 million, compared with $780.4 million reported a year earlier – which represents an increase of 0.4% (or 6.1% in local currency terms). Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.73 in the quarter, compared with $0.82 recorded for the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted fourth-quarter EPS by $0.05.

Commenting on these results, Kingsley con-tinued: ‘Our biopharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and aerospace markets all performed very well during the quarter. On a regional basis, the Americas had strong growth while Europe and Asia were flat. System sales were negative in the quarter as a function of a very large compari-son quarter in fiscal year 2011, our decision to pare certain unprofitable system sales and lower capital commitment in some markets.’

‘Consumable orders were strong globally, with the exception of our industrial markets in Europe where orders declined 7% year-on-year.’

For the full year, sales increased by 5.9% com-pared with the previous year (6.9% in local cur-rency terms). Diluted EPS were $2.71, compared

with $2.67, recorded for the equivalent period a year earlier, and. foreign currency translation had an immaterial impact on full-year EPS.

Kingsley concluded: ‘I am pleased with our execution in the quarter in that we were able to restore customer confidence. However, we have much to do to demonstrate that we can execute in a manner that is industry-leading and that we can be proud of. Our team is working hard to enable our strategy and build the necessary busi-ness processes to deliver consistent performance.’

‘As we look forward, the market environment is mixed. We anticipate challenges within our European industrial markets, slower than previ-ously expected global semiconductor end-mar-kets and moderating growth in some emerging markets. Other markets, though, will continue to grow in the current economic environment.’

‘Our current assumptions are generally con-sistent with our third-quarter characterisation, which assumes low-single to mid-single digit local-currency sales growth. On that basis in 2013 we expect pro forma EPS in the $3.05–3.25 range – reflecting 9–16% earnings per share growth. Included within our guidance is the assumption of 22–24 cents of adverse cur-rency associated impact.’

Contact:

Pall Corp, 25 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington,

NY 11050, USA. Tel: +1 516 484 5400, www.pall.com

On-site gas generators help companies reduce operational costs

Atlas Copco, an industrial group that manufactures and sells com-

pressors, expanders and air-treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems, has introduced three different ranges of gas generators for on-site nitrogen and oxygen production.

According to the company, these systems are designed to meet the highest purity standards and run economically in both large-scale and small-scale applications. It says that by using these generators companies can expand their existing compressed air installation to generate their own nitrogen and oxygen. An independ-ent supply of on-site gas can realise significant economies of scale and reduce operational costs.

On-site gas generation is more sustainable and cost-efficient than gas delivered in cylinders or bulk liquid supply, because it eliminates the operational and administrative costs of order-ing, transporting, storing and delivering the

Page 2: In Brief

NEWS

October 2012 Membrane Technology5

I n B r i e f

Global water-treatment chemicals market set for solid growthAccording to a new study published by Transparency Market Research, entitled ‘Water Treatment Chemicals and Technology Market – Global Scenario, Trends, Industry Analysis, Size, Share and Forecast, 2011–2018’, the global water-treatment chemicals and technology market was worth $115 809.7 million in 2011 and is expected to reach $149 895.6 million in 2018, grow-ing at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2013 to 2018.

More information:www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Nalco installs 20 000th 3D Trasar systemUS-based Nalco Co, an Ecolab company, has completed the installation of its 20 000th 3D Trasar technology system. It was installed at the Nestlé Waters North America bottling facility in Hawkins, Texas. The technology measures key system parameters, detects upsets and takes corrective action to maximise operating efficiency in cooling water, boiler water and membrane systems.

Osmoflo completes more than 18 months without a lost time injuryAustralia’s Osmoflo Pty Ltd, a reverse osmo-sis specialist based in Burton, Adelaide, reports that an underlying commitment to safety has resulted in it completing more than 18 months without a lost time injury (LTI). ‘Safety is of paramount importance to Osmoflo and to its key customers. Indeed, the consortia involved in the massive oil and gas projects off Australia’s north-west coast, and the global engineering companies respon-sible for delivering the necessary infrastruc-ture, rate safety as high as quality and price when considering the capability of Australian firms tendering for work packages,’ said Marc Fabig, Managing Director, Osmoflo.

Filtronics improves its Web-siteFiltronics Inc of Anaheim, California, USA, has revised its Web-site. According to the firm, it has been designed with a fresh experi-ence and user-friendly presentation of infor-mation covering its municipal and industrial water treatment products and services. It says the primary objective of the new site is to provide an effective business development tool. ‘We are placing an emphasis on mak-ing available the appropriate information and resources for our audience to learn about Filtronics and the various filtration process products and systems that we offer,’ said Steve Smee, Vice President, Operations, Filtronics.

More information: www.filtronics.com

focuses exclusively on the private sec-tor, has invested $12 million in Norway’s Aqualyng Holding As to expand the company’s sea-water desalination pro-jects in China – helping address the country’s water shortage problem.

The investment is part of Aqualyng’s recently completed $30- million fund-raising round, which also attracted investments from Clean Resources Asia Growth Fund, in which IFC is also an investor, and Pareto Staur Energy.

Aqualyng will use the funds to build new desalination plants in areas in China experi-encing water scarcity and other parts of Asia, producing up to 100 000 m3 (26.4 million gal-lons) of fresh water each day.

‘With IFC as an investor we will be better placed to attract additional private capital in the future,’ commented Bernt Østhus, Executive Chairman, Aqualyng.

‘IFC is known for quality investments and has a reputation for carefully selecting the companies with which it works. IFC’s global network will also help us to expand faster in emerging markets.’

This is IFC’s first investment in China’s emerging sea-water desalination industry.

Sérgio Pimenta, Director for East Asia and the Pacific, IFC, added: ‘Our investment in Aqualyng underscores our commitment to help China address water shortages, which seriously affect more than 100 cities in the country and millions of people.’

‘By partnering with a leading desalination company in Asia, we are also demonstrating that private sector players can be instrumental in helping solve such developmental challenges.’

Aqualyng and its joint-venture partner Beijing Enterprises Water Group recently com-missioned the first stage of the Caofeidian desalination plant in Hebei province, which can process 50 000 m3 (13.2 million gallons) of fresh water daily. The plant is one of the first large-scale, commercial sea-water reverse osmo-sis plants in China and is considered to be a model desalination project in the country.

Aqualyng’s equity investment in this project received a guarantee from the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment and Guarantee Agency.

Contacts:

International Finance Corp, 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA.

Tel: +1 202 473 1000, www1.ifc.org

Aqualyng As, Lyng Industrial Park, N-7125 Vanvikan,

Norway. Tel: +47 7 485 5500, www.aqualyng.com

Aqualyng China, Level 29, Shanghai Kerry Centre,

No. 1515 Nan Jing West Road, Shanghai 200040,

China. Tel: +86 21 610 37591

Elga helps E.ON harvest rainwater as boiler make-up water

Elga Process Water, a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company,

has supplied a two-stage membrane water purification system to E.ON UK Plc’s power station in Castleford to recover harvested rainwater for use as boiler make-up.

Castleford is a 56-MWe combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station and its 4.5 MPa (45-bar) boiler needs high purity make-up water.

The system enables up to 5 m3/h of water with a ‘‘mixed-bed’’ quality (better than 0.2 μS/cm conductivity with less than 10 μg/l of silica) to be produced from rainwater rather than mains water from the old plant.

Collected rainwater is stored in a holding tank, which also has an emergency mains water connec-tion, and is then pumped to the treatment plant. The treatment process consists of reverse osmosis (RO) followed by continuous electro-deionisation (CEDI), so there is no need to use regeneration chemicals. According to Elga, the Castleford plant is the first of its kind in the UK power-generating industry to use this technology.

The 2011–2012 winter period in the UK was particularly dry. However, during a very wet April, the site was able to collect 100 m3 of rainwater a day, says the company.

In order to minimise site construction time and avoid a prolonged shutdown as the new plant was commissioned, Elga built the MegaRO RO and Ionpro CEDI units in a container. The plant was pre-commissioned at works and then delivered to the site and simply connected to the recovered water tank and the boiler feed tank.

Contact:

Elga Process Water, Marlow International, Park Way,

Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 1YL, UK.

Tel: +44 1628 89 7000, www.elgaprocesswater.co.uk

RWL Water to build and run brackish desalination plant in Colombia

US-based global water products, technology and services provider

RWL Water Group has announced that its subsidiary Nirosoft Industries Ltd has

Page 3: In Brief

NEWS

October 2012 Membrane Technology7

I n B r i e f

CH2M Hill presentation forecasts nanotechnology research facility trendsTwo specialists - Monty Stranski and Hui May Yang - from US-based consulting, design, construction and operations firm CH2M Hill delivered a presentation at the International Symposium on Nanomaterials and Nanodevices (CHINano 2012), which was held in Suzhou, China, during September. Entitled ‘Integrating next-generation technol-ogy into today’s nano/MEMS research facili-ties’, it included case history data from the company’s nanotechnology research projects. These include a current project to design a multi-stack development laboratory for China’s largest nano/MEMS manufacturing hub.

More information: www.ch2mhill.com

Acquisition strengthens Envirogen’s regional presence in the USA Envirogen Technologies Inc, part of UK-based Amplio Group’s filtration family, has joined forces with environmental services firm Bigler Associates Inc of Lakewood, New Jersey, USA. Envirogen says the move substantially expands its presence in the eastern region of the USA and adds in excess of 20 years of environmen-tal design, construction and operating experi-ence to its national network. Bigler Associates' services include process development and opti-misation, automation, mechanical contracting, and operation and maintenance. Project types include treatment systems for groundwater, storm water and industrial wastwater.

Nitto Denko establishes R&D centre in Switzerland Japanese diversified materials manufacturer Nitto Denko Corp has established a new innovation facility in Switzerland. Called the Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre Sarl (NET), it is situated at the Innovation Square of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and is expected to under-pin the firm’s global corporate R&D set-up along with existing key sites in Japan, the USA and Singapore. Nitto Denko says NET will take full advantage of EPFL’s peripheral network and rich talent pool in its European-oriented environmental and life science fields.

Pall completes sale of business assetsUS-based Pall Corp has completed the sale of the business assets of its blood collection, filtration and processing product lines to Haemonetics Corp (see Membrane Technology June 2012, page 1). The transaction involved the transfer of several manufacturing facilities and related employees. In addition, Pall says it will transfer certain blood media manufac-turing assets to Haemonetics by 2016.

storage tanks are eliminated. Also, operating costs are reduced as cartridge filters are not needed with this design.

Earlier this year, FEWA selected X-Flow UF membranes for the large-scale Al Zawrah SWRO plant in Ajman, UAE.

Contact:

X-Flow Bv, Marssteden 50, 7547 TC Enschede,

The Netherlands. Tel: +31 53 428 7350,

www.x-flow.com, www.cptholding.com

Merck acquires cell culture media specialist Biochrom

Merck KgaA, a global pharmaceuti-cals and chemicals company,

has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Biochrom Ag, based in Berlin, Germany.

The company, which has approximately 60 employees and had sales of around E13 million in 2011, specialises in the production and marketing of cell-culture media and buffer solutions.

The parties agreed not to disclose the pur-chase price. The acquisition is subject to cus-tomary closing conditions such as the approval of the respective antitrust authority.

The acquisition will strengthen Merck Millipore’s Process Solutions business unit, which provides products and services that simplify pro-duction complexity for manufacturers of pharma-ceuticals and bio-pharmaceuticals. Biochrom’s cell-culture media products are highly complementary – adding liquid cell-culture media and buffers, including serum-free products and disposable packaging, to the existing portfolio.

‘With Biochrom we have a great oppor-tunity to deliver an expanded portfolio of cell-culture media products to our global customers and address a growing demand for ready-to-use liquid solutions that drive safety and efficiency in the development and manu-facture of clinical and commercial drug mate-rials,’ said Robert Yates, who is the head of the Merck Millipore division.

Dr Bernd Frenzel, Chief Executive Officer, Biochrom Ag, added: ‘Merck Millipore is the ideal partner for Biochrom. With Merck Millipore we will be able to use the company’s industry relationships and global footprint to reach more customers and offer a more com-prehensive portfolio of media and buffers.’

Biochrom, which will maintain its operations in Berlin, will become part of Merck Millipore’s Process Solutions business unit.

Contacts:

Merck KgaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt,

Germany. Tel: +49 6151 720, www.merck.de

EMD Millipore, 290 Concord Road, Billerica,

MA 01821, USA. Tel: +1 978 715 4321,

www.millipore.com

Biochrom Ag, Leonorenstr. 2–6, 12247 Berlin,

Germany. Tel: +49 30 77 99 060, www.biochrom.de

Aqua-Aerobic Systems opens research centre at RRWRD plant

In the USA, applied engineering water and wastewater treatment

company Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc recently officially opened its research and technology centre based at Rock River Water Reclamation District’s (RRWRD) central treatment plant in Rockford, Illinois.

During 2011 Aqua-Aerobic Systems entered into a long-term agreement with RRWRD which enabled it to build an on-site research facility for the purpose of applied research and to demonstrate new products and process tech-nologies used in the treatment of wastewater.

This collaboration provides the company with access to a variety of in-plant process wastewater streams from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant – essential in developing and testing new products and process concepts for future commercialisation, and applications both domestically and internationally.

The centre will be an integral component of Aqua-Aerobic Systems’ technical seminar programme. Customers also will be able to visit the centre and see full-scale products and the respective design features and capabilities of the firm’s treatment technologies.

‘This is a classic case of a public–private partnership with no cost to District users,’ said Bob Wimmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aqua-Aerobic Systems.

The centre conducts research and testing using Aqua-Aerobic Systems’ cloth media filtra-tion products and membrane technologies.

Contacts:

Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc, 6306 North Alpine Road,

Loves Park, IL 61111, USA. Tel: +1 815 654 2501,

www.aqua-aerobic.com

Rock River Water Reclamation District,

3333 Kishwaukee Street, Rockford, IL 61109, USA.

Tel: +1 815 387 7400, www.rrwrd.dst.il.us