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As part of this bi-weekly newsletter, we bring you the latest industry news, technology innovations and appointments from across the industry including:
Flender Family, Acqusitions, and Utility merger?
To quick things off, we celebrate Flender's 125th anniversary!
“We have always been and will always be a large Flender family,”
said Flender CEO Andreas Evertz at the recent grand anniversary party at the main site in Bocholt, Germany.
“Whether employees, customers, suppliers, partners, or owners—today we all feel like Flenderans. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team and to advance the energy transition with you. Because without drive technology and Flender, nothing moves in this world.”
The company invited all employees from its Bocholt, Mussum, and Voerde sites, as well as representatives from customers, suppliers, associations, politics, and regional partners. Around 2,500 guests experienced a spectacular evening, with music and show acts on a large open-air stage. The highlight was the grand anniversary show, which combined multimedia content with acrobatics and dance.
The anniversary party in Bocholt kicked off celebrations at all worldwide Flender locations throughout the year. The leaders of the 33 national representations came to Bocholt and were on the large stage with their national flags. Just like the Olympic flame, they now take the spirit of the celebration to their Flender locations.
Flowserve Corporation is partnering with Germany’s Heide Refinery to drive energy, cost and carbon savings for the crude oil refinery and chemicals company through its Energy Advantage Program.
The Flowserve Energy Advantage Program uses a data-driven engineering evaluation process that promotes energy efficiency through optimization of pump and valve power consumption – with little to no disruption to a customer’s existing processes. This holistic flow control approach helps customers like Heide reach their carbon reduction goals and lower total cost of ownership.
Aligned with its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Heide Refinery is innovating to provide reliable energy while limiting its environmental impact and embeds energy efficiency into its value chain. Capitalizing on this strategic opportunity, Heide Refinery is working closely with Flowserve to capture additional energy savings.
“Our Energy Advantage Program is revolutionizing the way our customers approach their strategies to decarbonize their operations. With an emphasis on improving operations, customers also can enjoy long-term savings while decreasing their overall carbon footprint"
said Scott Rowe, Flowserve’s president and CEO. Roland Kühl, MD of Heide added:
“With Flowserve’s engineering expertise, we can achieve meaningful savings while also lowering our carbon emissions by over 1,300 metric tons each year. We look forward to continuing this partnership to help us identify more energy savings potential in the future.”
Following the success of the pilot, Flowserve and Heide Refinery will expand the program to optimize other flow loops within the plant.
US independent specialty pump rental and dewatering solutions provider Holland Pump Company has completed the acquisition of Florida Dewatering based in Tampa, Florida.
The acquisition of Florida Dewatering, which offers pump and wellpoint equipment rentals, will expand Holland Pump’s fleet, capabilities, and customer base across Florida's Gulf Coast.
“This acquisition is consistent with our commitment to continued growth, while leveraging our superior customer service and broadening our product line in this strong market. We are excited about the opportunity to assist new customers and offer them a wide selection of pumps, equipment, services and solutions. I want to thank Bob for his confidence in our team.”
said Thomas Vossman, CEO of Holland Pump Company. Bob Davis, owner of Florida Dewatering, added:
“We are thrilled to work with Holland Pump. We are impressed with the company’s leadership and excited for the growth potential this acquisition offers with the two companies coming together.”
This is Holland Pump's seventh acquisition since partnering with XPV Water Partners in 2019.
Exton joins WEF from GRUNDFOS, where he served as the water utility vice president and chief marketing officer. Prior to Grundfos, Exton had nearly three decades of experience at companies in the water sector, including SUEZ, Veolia, and GE Water & Process Technologies.
He has also been a key WEF volunteer with over a decade of service. He served on WEF’s board of trustees for five years, holding the position of treasurer/officer for three consecutive years and chairing the audit committee. Additionally, Exton was a member of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) board committee and was nominated to join the WEF Circular Economy Advisory Committee. In recognition of his significant contributions, he was presented with the WEF Fellow Award in October 2023 for his commitment to advancing the global water environment.
"I have been honored to serve the WEF community for many years and have developed a passion for this organization," said Exton. "My goal as WEF's executive director is to reinforce its position as a leader and convener in the water sector, enhancing its impact on global water issues.”
“Ralph will be a pivotal part of steering WEF through the next phase of its strategic plan, aligning with the organization's vision of achieving a 'life free of water challenges,'” said Killeen. "He – and WEF – remain firmly committed to our mission of inspiring the water community in pursuit of human and environmental well-being.”
Established in 1928, WEF is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of more than 30,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world.
The Competition and Markets Authority has published its clearance of the merger of SUTTON AND EAST SURREY WATER PLC with South West Water, following the acquisition announced on 10 January 2024.
Pennon Group Plc said the company was pleased that the proposed undertakings in relation to the separate reporting of SES Water’s costs and performance have now been accepted.
SES Water is a drinking water only supplier in the South East, supplying 160 million litres of clean water every day to around 745,000 customers across East Surrey, West Sussex, West Kent and South London. The Group employs 476 staff and is headquartered in Redhill, Surrey. It was put up for sale last year, by its owners Sumisho Osaka Gas Water UK Limited.
The acquisition of SES Water is in addition to Pennon’s current water business expected investment of £850 million over 24 months. In October 2023, the Group also submitted its plans to double investment to £2.8 billion from 2025-30 across our four key areas of water quality and resilience and tackling storm overflows and pollutions, delivering for customers and addressing affordability, reaching net zero and enhancing environmental gains.
“As part of the Pennon Group, we will enhance SES Water’s financial resilience and better position the business to serve its customers and all stakeholders, as has proven to be the case with our acquisitions of Bournemouth Water and Bristol Water. We are able to invest in SES Water’s resources infrastructure, environment and people thanks to our strong financial performance and long-term UK shareholder base, delivering a seamless transition for SES Water’s customers while also providing an even more robust and reliable service to customers"
commented Susan Davy, Group CEO of Pennon Group.
As this acquisition demonstrates, it also has a level of financial flexibility to invest in high quality businesses such as SES Water in a sustainable manner, with the acquisition being partially funded by a contribution from Pennon’s shareholders through an equity raise, demonstrating their belief in the quality of the business.
Wastewater treatment providers face the challenge of effectively handling a variety of treatment chemicals, as well as external factors such as increasing demand and the drive for sustainability. Adeel Hassan, product manager at Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions, shares his insight into how wastewater treatment providers can overcome different process challenges by upgrading their pumping technology.
Around 359 billion cubic meters of wastewater is produced globally each year. As well as municipal wastewater, a broad range of industrial processes produce wastewater, such as chemical manufacturing, food processing and powerplants.
If the effluent water is going to be discharged back into the environment, it must be treated to comply with regulatory requirements and prevent damage to ecosystems and human health. Alternatively, many industrial companies want to reuse their wastewater to minimise their environmental impact, reduce costs and overcome water shortages. For this purpose, the wastewater must be treated so that it is suitable for its new purpose, such as industrial cooling water.
Wastewater treatment providers face a variety of operating challenges, including handling a wide range of chemicals, meeting high demand, and becoming more sustainable. However, with the correct pumping technology, wastewater plant managers can ensure their operations run efficiently, accurately and safely.
Jet Aire has been named one of the winning partners in the Ofwat Breakthrough Innovation Challenge for its participation in a research project to develop the world’s first blockage clearing pipebots.
Working with NWG (Northumbrian Water Group), the University of Sheffield, as well as a number of other universities, WASCs and suppliers, this project aims to find a way to proactively detect build-ups before they become a blockage, eradicating spills and sewer flooding and its devastating impact on customers.
The innovative technology will see a truly autonomous pipebot that will live in the sewer for 30 days at a stretch, patrolling to understand the network and detect blockage build-up, alerting maintenance teams.
There are over 40,000 incidents of internal and external sewer flooding in the UK every year which cause devastating damage to customers properties. A significant proportion of these are because of blockages in sewer pipes.
Dean Blackbourn, North East Area Manager, Jet Aire said:
“Current approaches using smart networks are reactive, based on detecting rising water levels in sewers to estimate where blockages might be. However, it is often too late to allow maintenance teams to locate and clear the blockage before flooding occurs. Pipebot makes this process proactive. We are very excited to be supporting this project which could be the first step in delivering the world’s first blockage clearing pipebots.”
Europe:
North America:
For more information on any of these opportunities, please get in touch with Lyle King or Will Brockbank.
That's it for Volume 15! Stay tuned for more and don't forget to follow Influx Search for the latest industry news and job advertisements.
