Water. desalination + reuse

BUSINESS | 16 | Desalination & Water Reuse | February-March 2014 coRpoRate changes Caption EvoqUa to BE NEw tItlE for SIEmENS watEr Evoqua Water Technologies LLC is to be the new name of Siemens Water Technologies LLC following its acquisition by AEA Investors LP. AEA has secured regulatory approvals and closed on an agreement to acquire the municipal, industrial and services water and wastewater treatment operations and assets of Siemens Water Technologies from Siemens AG for € 640 million. Under AEA, Evoqua will continue to offer municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment equipment and services, including membrane filtration equipment. The existing management under the leadership of CEO Dr Lukas Loeffler will remain. "AEA Investors is pleased to complete this acquisition and move forward with management to execute its plan to grow the business and maximize the potential of this industry leader," said AEA partner Brian Hoesterey. H2o INNovatIoN complEtES pIEdmoNt pacIfIc pUrcHaSE Canada's H 2 O Innovation Inc announced on 5 December 2013 completion of the previously announced acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common stock shares of Piedmont Pacific Corporation of Oakland, California, for a total consideration of approximately Can$ 4.0 million (US$ 3.8 million). One of the leading manufacturers of flexible pipe couplings and other pipe fittings for highly corrosive environments, Piedmont was founded by James Medanich, who died in November 2013. The company has also raised Can$ 906,600 (US$ 851,800) from sales of common shares to company insiders and additionally has sold 18.28% of the common shares to Investissement Québec, which will have a representative on the H 2 O Innovation board. Piedmont, created in 2002, provides a broad product line that spans a wide range of industrial and municipal applications mostly using membrane-related technologies and was the first to introduce couplings made of duplex and super duplex stainless steel. Among numerous references in the desalination industry are the 263,000 m 3 /d water reuse plant in Orange County (USA), the 200,000 m 3 /d Barcelona desalination plant (Spain) and the 250,000 m 3 /d Sydney desalination plant (Australia). Piedmont's revenues mostly come from seawater and brackish water desalination projects through a North American and international sales network of OEMs, distributors, municipal and industrial clients. Piedmont's activities will be integrated under the umbrella of the consumables business line due to the recurring nature of the sales and customers profile. "The acquisition of Piedmont will allow H 2 O Innovation to increase its presence in the membrane desalination industry through a large international sales network that we intend to maintain and support actively," stated Frederic Dugré, president and CEO of H 2 O Innovation. "Piedmont will be integrated to our existing ERP system, logistics and supply chain processes and will benefit from the testing, warehousing, packing and shipping capabilities of our existing facility in Vista, California, thus reducing operating costs." "Our strong experience for local and international shipments of speciality chemicals to our clients will enable us to continue to provide the couplings' clients with an outstanding customer care," Dugré added. "Moreover, our engineering experience and capabilities related to membrane systems design will strengthen the product offering and customer support". acwa powEr BUyS INto SHUwEIHat S1 compaNy Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power International announced on 27 January 2014 that it has agreed to acquire the 20% stake held by Summit Global Management VIII BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, in Shuweihat CMS International Power Company PJSC, which owns the Shuweihat S1 Power & Desalination Plant (S1 plant) in Abu Dhabi, and its 50% equity interest in the Shuweihat O&M Limited Partnership. Starting commercial production in 2005, the S1 plant has a net production capacity of 100 MIGD (454,200 m 3 /d) of water from a multi-stage flash plant and 1,500 MW of electricity. It was the third Independent Water and Power Project commissioned by Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority and accounts for about 12% of the electricity generation capacity and 11% of the water production capacity in the emirate. Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power chairman, stated "This marks ACWA Power 's entry into yet another important market in the GCC, the third country within GCC after our significant positions in Saudi Arabia and Oman." The transaction should be completed in March 2014. oaSyS aNNoUNcES oIl & gaS SalES Hook-Up Forward-osmosis specialist Oasys Water announced on 12 December 2013 that it had recently signed an exclusive sales agreement with National Oilwell Varco LP (NOV), a leading global provider of equipment and services used in the oil and gas market. The agreement gives NOV the exclusive license for the Oasys Membrane Brine Concentrator (MBC) technology in global upstream oil and gas for produced-water treatment. Together, NOV and Oasys will combine NOV's operational and service capabilities with Oasys' technology to deliver water- reuse solutions into the growing global produced-water market. The initial MBC 4000 system, a movable unit that can treat and desalinate up to 4,000 barrels of produced water per day (630 m³/d) to provide fresh water for beneficial reuse, will be deployed in early summer 2014. "Establishing this relationship with Oasys Water is a key part of our strategy to deliver water services and innovation across the entire exploration and production supply chain for the oil and gas industry," said Dale Pierce, NOV new business development manager, North America. "Oasys' proven water desalination platform is a natural fit with our strategy to provide industry-defining technologies, high quality and environmentally responsible solutions." Earlier in 2013, Oasys secured significant financing to facilitate expansion into additional industrial markets, including power and refining. In October, the company also announced a relationship with leading Chinese contractor Beijing Woteer Water Technology Co Ltd to provide the MBC technology as an alternative to conventional evaporative technologies in the rapidly growing industrial water treatment market in China.

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