- Email: [email protected]
Ionics’ results show a rise in revenues
NEWS
In Brief Vivendi shows strong presence at ACHEMA Supplier of water treatment equipment and products Vivendi Water Systems showed a strong presence at ACHEMA 2003 (19–24 May 2003), exhibiting on no less than three stands. Among other products, the company displayed its specialist pharmaceutical water treatment package. The main feature was the Orion pharmaceutical water system. This skid-mounted package is designed in accordance with the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology guidelines to produce water to US Pharmacopoeia and European Pharmacopoeia, in full compliance with current good manufacturing practice. Orion includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis, continuous electrodeionization and ultraviolet light disinfection units. Elga LabWater, part of Vivendi Water, displayed its Purewater Ultra polishing system, along with a range of accessories. GE Osmonics develops cartridge filter technology US-based GE Osmonics has developed a filter technology for manufacturing pure polypropylene meltblown, fluid cartridge filters which, claims the company, reduces by up to half the number of spent filters generated by end-users’ fluid processing operations. Called Z.Plex, two versions are being offered initially – the ROsave.Zs filter for reverse osmosis pretreatment applications and the WellPro.Zs filter for deep-well protection applications. Additional filters, tailored to specific applications, will be introduced later in 2003, says the company. Conference details waterindustry developments Gateway Investor Forum, a division of the Wall Street Transcript, is running a Conference under the theme ‘Investing in the Water Industry’ in New York on the 10 June 2003. It will provide an insight into how the major water companies are positioning themselves in this huge sector, and allow attendees to hear about the developments that are taking place in the water industry and to network with decision-makers in this investment area. For more information, visit www.gatewayreports. com/conferences/gis.html.
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because it offers customers benefits that cannot be duplicated by conventional biological processes,” said Steve Wirtel, executive vice president of sales for USFilter. According to the company, the operational simplicity is evident in the MemJet fluid renewal system design which counteracts the natural tendency for solids to accumulate within the membrane bundle by geometrically directing jets to flush solids away from the membrane’s surface. Contact: Karole Colangelo, USFilter, 1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 200, West Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA. Tel: +1 847 706 6947, Fax: +1 847 706 6933, Email: [email protected].
Snow Leopard terminates Eltron agreement Canada’s Snow Leopard Resources Inc has terminated its efforts to reach a definitive agreement with US company Eltron Research Inc on licensing sulphur mitigation technology developed by Eltron. Snow Leopard, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, had previously signed a letter of intent (see Membrane Technology, November 2002, page 5) with Eltron Research Inc, a privately-owned research company that is located in Boulder, Colorado, to acquire the worldwide licences for intellectual technology and patents which encompassed catalytic membrane reactor and hydrogen sulphide solid oxide fuel cell development. Snow Leopard says that it has been unable to meet the letter of intent’s requirements with respect to the purchase of intellectual property rights. The company has recognized an impairment of the value of its patent portfolio, and it says that it does not have sufficient financial resources to complete the research and development that is required to commercialize its wholly-owned proton membrane fuel cell technology. The value of the patent portfolio has been reduced to nil and an amount of C$1.25 million has been charged to amortization expense. Snow Leopard’s board of directors is
now considering the alternatives that are available to the company. Contact: Snow Leopard Resources Inc, 510 5th Street S.W., Suite 600, Calgary, Alberta T2P 3S2, Canada. Tel: +1 403 265 4377, Fax: +1 403 266 3355, Email: [email protected].
Ionics’ results show a rise in revenues Ionics Inc’s results for its first quarter ended 31 March 2003 show an increase in revenues, but a decline in net income. The company, which is based in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, reported first-quarter revenues of US$88.2 million, compared with US$80.0 million, which it posted for the first quarter of 2002. It posted net income of US$576 000 and earnings per share of US$0.03 for the first three months of fiscal 2003, compared with net income of US$1.5 million and earnings per share of US$0.08 for the corresponding period of 2002. Backlog at the end of the first quarter of 2003 was US$348.5 million compared with US$249.6 million a year earlier. Arthur Goldstein, Ionics’ chairman and chief executive officer, noted that the results reflected revenue improvement in each of the company’s business groups (including sales to affiliated companies), and an increase in gross margin of US$2.3 million, compared with the first quarter of 2002. An increase in selling and administrative costs, primarily because of higher postretirement and pension costs, and higher professional service fees, essentially offset the increase in gross margin, says Goldstein. Contact: Ionics Inc, 65 Grove Street, Watertown, MA 02471-9131, USA. Tel: +1 617 926 2500, Fax: +1 617 926 4304.
GWR system receives award A water project based in Orange County, California, USA –
referred to as a groundwater replenishment (GWR) system – has received the ‘2003 Award of Excellence’ from the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, Orange County Chapter (CELSOC). Water that is produced by the system has a quality which is similar to that of bottled water. This is done by taking highly treated sewer water, which is currently released into the ocean, and purifying it using microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide advanced oxidation treatment. The purified water will become part of a sea-water barrier and will be pumped through a pipeline to percolation ponds in Anaheim where it will be allowed to seep into deep aquifers and blend with Orange County’s other sources of groundwater, following the same natural filtering path that rainwater takes through the ground. This is the third award this project has received, including the US Environmental Protection Agency ‘2002 Environmental Achievement Award’, and the ‘1998 Planned Project of the Year’, presented by the WateReuse Association of California. According to Orange County Water District (OCWD), once completed in 2007, the GWR system will produce enough purified water every year to supply 140 000 families. OCWD says that the project will help meet future predicted water shortages in the county. It will also help reduce the mineral content of its groundwater and prevent ocean water from contaminating the large groundwater basin. Additionally, it will provide water during droughts – a reoccurring event in Southern California. The OCWD manages and protects the large groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district (separate from the County of Orange or any city government) that was created by the California Legislature in 1933 to oversee the county’s groundwater basin. Contact: Orange County Water District, 10500 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, USA. Tel: +1 714 378 3200, Fax: +1 714 378 3373, Email: [email protected].
Membrane Technology June 2003
In Brief Vivendi shows strong presence at ACHEMA Supplier of water treatment equipment and products Vivendi Water Systems showed a strong presence at ACHEMA 2003 (19–24 May 2003), exhibiting on no less than three stands. Among other products, the company displayed its specialist pharmaceutical water treatment package. The main feature was the Orion pharmaceutical water system. This skid-mounted package is designed in accordance with the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology guidelines to produce water to US Pharmacopoeia and European Pharmacopoeia, in full compliance with current good manufacturing practice. Orion includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis, continuous electrodeionization and ultraviolet light disinfection units. Elga LabWater, part of Vivendi Water, displayed its Purewater Ultra polishing system, along with a range of accessories. GE Osmonics develops cartridge filter technology US-based GE Osmonics has developed a filter technology for manufacturing pure polypropylene meltblown, fluid cartridge filters which, claims the company, reduces by up to half the number of spent filters generated by end-users’ fluid processing operations. Called Z.Plex, two versions are being offered initially – the ROsave.Zs filter for reverse osmosis pretreatment applications and the WellPro.Zs filter for deep-well protection applications. Additional filters, tailored to specific applications, will be introduced later in 2003, says the company. Conference details waterindustry developments Gateway Investor Forum, a division of the Wall Street Transcript, is running a Conference under the theme ‘Investing in the Water Industry’ in New York on the 10 June 2003. It will provide an insight into how the major water companies are positioning themselves in this huge sector, and allow attendees to hear about the developments that are taking place in the water industry and to network with decision-makers in this investment area. For more information, visit www.gatewayreports. com/conferences/gis.html.
4
because it offers customers benefits that cannot be duplicated by conventional biological processes,” said Steve Wirtel, executive vice president of sales for USFilter. According to the company, the operational simplicity is evident in the MemJet fluid renewal system design which counteracts the natural tendency for solids to accumulate within the membrane bundle by geometrically directing jets to flush solids away from the membrane’s surface. Contact: Karole Colangelo, USFilter, 1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 200, West Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA. Tel: +1 847 706 6947, Fax: +1 847 706 6933, Email: [email protected].
Snow Leopard terminates Eltron agreement Canada’s Snow Leopard Resources Inc has terminated its efforts to reach a definitive agreement with US company Eltron Research Inc on licensing sulphur mitigation technology developed by Eltron. Snow Leopard, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, had previously signed a letter of intent (see Membrane Technology, November 2002, page 5) with Eltron Research Inc, a privately-owned research company that is located in Boulder, Colorado, to acquire the worldwide licences for intellectual technology and patents which encompassed catalytic membrane reactor and hydrogen sulphide solid oxide fuel cell development. Snow Leopard says that it has been unable to meet the letter of intent’s requirements with respect to the purchase of intellectual property rights. The company has recognized an impairment of the value of its patent portfolio, and it says that it does not have sufficient financial resources to complete the research and development that is required to commercialize its wholly-owned proton membrane fuel cell technology. The value of the patent portfolio has been reduced to nil and an amount of C$1.25 million has been charged to amortization expense. Snow Leopard’s board of directors is
now considering the alternatives that are available to the company. Contact: Snow Leopard Resources Inc, 510 5th Street S.W., Suite 600, Calgary, Alberta T2P 3S2, Canada. Tel: +1 403 265 4377, Fax: +1 403 266 3355, Email: [email protected].
Ionics’ results show a rise in revenues Ionics Inc’s results for its first quarter ended 31 March 2003 show an increase in revenues, but a decline in net income. The company, which is based in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, reported first-quarter revenues of US$88.2 million, compared with US$80.0 million, which it posted for the first quarter of 2002. It posted net income of US$576 000 and earnings per share of US$0.03 for the first three months of fiscal 2003, compared with net income of US$1.5 million and earnings per share of US$0.08 for the corresponding period of 2002. Backlog at the end of the first quarter of 2003 was US$348.5 million compared with US$249.6 million a year earlier. Arthur Goldstein, Ionics’ chairman and chief executive officer, noted that the results reflected revenue improvement in each of the company’s business groups (including sales to affiliated companies), and an increase in gross margin of US$2.3 million, compared with the first quarter of 2002. An increase in selling and administrative costs, primarily because of higher postretirement and pension costs, and higher professional service fees, essentially offset the increase in gross margin, says Goldstein. Contact: Ionics Inc, 65 Grove Street, Watertown, MA 02471-9131, USA. Tel: +1 617 926 2500, Fax: +1 617 926 4304.
GWR system receives award A water project based in Orange County, California, USA –
referred to as a groundwater replenishment (GWR) system – has received the ‘2003 Award of Excellence’ from the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, Orange County Chapter (CELSOC). Water that is produced by the system has a quality which is similar to that of bottled water. This is done by taking highly treated sewer water, which is currently released into the ocean, and purifying it using microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide advanced oxidation treatment. The purified water will become part of a sea-water barrier and will be pumped through a pipeline to percolation ponds in Anaheim where it will be allowed to seep into deep aquifers and blend with Orange County’s other sources of groundwater, following the same natural filtering path that rainwater takes through the ground. This is the third award this project has received, including the US Environmental Protection Agency ‘2002 Environmental Achievement Award’, and the ‘1998 Planned Project of the Year’, presented by the WateReuse Association of California. According to Orange County Water District (OCWD), once completed in 2007, the GWR system will produce enough purified water every year to supply 140 000 families. OCWD says that the project will help meet future predicted water shortages in the county. It will also help reduce the mineral content of its groundwater and prevent ocean water from contaminating the large groundwater basin. Additionally, it will provide water during droughts – a reoccurring event in Southern California. The OCWD manages and protects the large groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district (separate from the County of Orange or any city government) that was created by the California Legislature in 1933 to oversee the county’s groundwater basin. Contact: Orange County Water District, 10500 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, USA. Tel: +1 714 378 3200, Fax: +1 714 378 3373, Email: [email protected].
Membrane Technology June 2003