Minntech forms alliance with Baxter

Minntech forms alliance with Baxter

News & Views n u m b e r of b u s i n e s s e s in t h e s u p p l y of l a b o r a t o r y equipment. Mr Wellings said that no decision had b e e n ...

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News & Views

n u m b e r of b u s i n e s s e s in t h e s u p p l y of l a b o r a t o r y equipment. Mr Wellings said that no decision had b e e n m a d e a s to t h e i r f u t u r e .

For further information contact: Culligan International Company, One Culligan Parkway, Northbrook, IL 60062, USA. Tel: +1 708 205 6000;fax: +1 708 205 6005.

Millipore's r e v e n u e s up 24% Millipore C o r p . , r e c e n t l y a n n o u n c e d t h a t its t h i r d q u a r t e r r e v e n u e s w e r e U S $ 1 8 5 million, u p 2 4 % from t h e s a m e p e r i o d l a s t year. G r o w t h in local c u r r e n c y w a s 31%. T h e g r o w t h w a s a t t r i b u t a b l e in l a r g e p a r t to two r e c e n t Millipore a c q u i s i t i o n s , Amicon and Tylan-General. Without the acquisitions, Millipore r e v e n u e g r o w t h w o u l d h a v e b e e n 8% in local c u r r e n c y . M i l l i p o r e ' s a n a l y t i c a l b u s i n e s s p e r f o r m e d well, p r o m p t e d b y t h e s u c c e s s f u l i n t r o d u c t i o n of a n e w f a m i l y of l a b o r a t o r y w a t e r p u r i f i c a t i o n s y s t e m s . In addition, microelectronics -- excluding the newly acquired Tylan business -- also showed improved performance. Millipore report that Biopharmaceutical r e v e n u e g r o w t h of 6% in t h e t h i r d q u a r t e r w a s b e l o w e x p e c t a t i o n s . However, Millipore s t a t e t h a t t h i s d o e s n o t c h a n g e t h e i r v i e w of t h e g r o w t h p o t e n t i a l of t h i s business over the long term. C E O W i l l i a m Z a d e l c o m m e n t e d , "we h a d e x p e c t e d o u r r e c e n t a c q u i s i t i o n s to b e n o n - d i l u t i v e b y y e a r ' s e n d . We h a v e a c h i e v e d t h i s for o u r A m i c o n a c q u i s i t i o n , " Z a d e l s a i d . "Given t h e m i c r o e l e c t r o n i c s r e v e n u e t r e n d s of t h e y e a r to d a t e , it will p r o b a b l y b e n e x t y e a r b e f o r e t h i s is a c h i e v e d for t h e T y l a n a c q u i s i t i o n . We r e m a i n o p t i m i s t i c a b o u t o u r s t r a t e g i c d i r e c t i o n a n d g r o w t h p o t e n t i a l in m i c r o e l e c t r o n i c s , a n d a r e a d j u s t i n g e x p e n s e levels in l i g h t of m a r k e t c o n d i t i o n s to m e e t o u r f i n a n c i a l t a r g e t s . "

For further information contact: Millipore Corporation, 80 A s h b y Road, Bedford, MA 01730-2271, USA. Tel: +1 617 275 9200;fax: +1 617 533 3301.

Major restructuring o f USF USF, p a r t of U S Filter, t h e w o r l d ' s l a r g e s t m a n u f a c t u r e r of w a t e r a n d w a s t e w a t e r t r e a t m e n t s y s t e m s , h a s a n n o u n c e d p l a n s to r e s t r u c t u r e its UK a c t i v i t i e s in t h e m u n i c i p a l w a s t e a n d p o t a b l e a n d industrial wastewater markets.

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A n u m b e r of w e l l - k n o w n b r a n d n a m e s a r e i n c l u d e d in t h e G r o u p i n c l u d i n g : E d w a r d s & J o n e s , W a l l a c e & T i e r n a n , A c u m e m , E n v i r e x , G e n e r a l F i l t e r a n d Flocor. U S F a n n o u n c e t h a t w h i l e t h e s e b r a n d n a m e s will b e r e t a i n e d a n d p r o m o t e d , t h e y will b e i n t e g r a t e d i n t o a single o r g a n i s a t i o n . T h e UK's D i v i s i o n a l MD Bill R e e v e s s a i d t h a t t h e a i m of t h e r e s t r u c t u r i n g w a s to r e m o v e d u p l i c a t i o n o n e a c h of t h e U S F s i t e s a n d s t a f f will b e e n c o u r a g e d to s h a r e a n d d e v e l o p t h e i r k n o w l e d g e a c r o s s all a s p e c t s of t h e b u s i n e s s .

For further information contact: USF Ltd, Whittle Road, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 7QD, UK. Tel: +44 1782 599000;fax: +44 1 782 599001.

Ionics acquires Watertec Ionics, r e c e n t l y a n n o u n c e d t h a t it h a s a c q u i r e d water treatment specialist Watertec Group who are b a s e d in B r i s b a n e , A u s t r a l i a . T h e g r o u p of b u s i n e s s e s , w h i c h will b e k n o w n a s I o n i c s W a t e r t e c Pry. Ltd, will c o n t i n u e t h e i r e x i s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s in t h e m a n u f a c t u r e a n d s u p p l y of o z o n a t i o n s y s t e m s for w a t e r d i s i n f e c t i o n a s well a s s y s t e m s for c h e m i c a l metering. A c c o r d i n g to l o n i c s ' C h a i r m a n , A r t h u r L. G o l d s t e i n , "the o z o n a t i o n p r o c e s s w a s o n e of t h e m i s s i n g 'tools' in t h e I o n i c s T o o l b o x of a d v a n c e d w a t e r t r e a t m e n t t e c h n o l o g i e s . He a d d e d t h a t "at t h e s a m e t i m e , I o n i c s W a t e r t e c will p r o v i d e a c o n d u i t for I o n i c s ' w a t e r a n d w a s t e w a t e r t r e a t m e n t p r o d u c t s a n d s e r v i c e s in t h e Australian and Asian markets." G o l d s t e i n a d d e d t h a t J o h n S. C h a l m e r s , M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r of t h e G r o u p , a n d Philip J . B a r l o w , T e c h n i c a l Director, will b e c o m e active m e m b e r s of I o n i c s ' management team.

For further information contact: Ionics Incorporated, PO Box 9131, Watertown, MA 02272-9131, USA. Tel: +1 617 926 2500;fax: +1 617 926 4304. Internet: http: / / www.ionics.com

Minntech forms alliance with Baxter M i n n t e c h Corp. is to e n t e r i n t o a w o r l d w i d e e x c l u s i v e hemofilter distribution agreement with Baxter H e a l t h c a r e Corp. U n d e r t h e t e r m s of t h e m u l t i - y e a r a g r e e m e n t , B a x t e r will h a v e e x c l u s i v e d i s t r i b u t i o n r i g h t s to M i n n t e c h ' s R e n a t l o II a n d Minifilter P l u s h e m o f i l t e r p r o d u c t l i n e s in n e a r l y all w o r l d m a r k e t s .

M e m b r a n e T e c h n o l o g y No. 91

News & Views M i n n t e c h - J a p a n , a j o i n t v e n t u r e c o m p a n y , will c o n t i n u e to d i s t r i b u t e M i n n t e c h h e m o f i l t e r s in J a p a n and China. H e m o f i l t r a t i o n is a slow, c o n t i n u o u s b l o o d filtration t h e r a p y u s e d to c o n t r o l o v e r - h y d r a t i o n a n d a c u t e r e n a l f a i l u r e in u n s t a b l e , critically-ill p a t i e n t s . T h e hemofilter removes plasma water, waste products, and t o x i n s from t h e c i r c u l a t i n g b l o o d of p a t i e n t s w h i l e c o n s e r v i n g t h e c e l l u l a r a n d p r o t e i n c o n t e n t of t h e b l o o d . H e m o f i l t e r s a r e a l s o u s e d in t h e t r e a t m e n t of s e p s i s , a b a c t e r i a l i n f e c t i o n of t h e b l o o d s t r e a m w h i c h s t r i k e s over a h a l f m i l l i o n p a t i e n t s in t h e US a l o n e e a c h year. M i n n t e c h ' s P r e s i d e n t a n d CEO, T h o m a s J. M c G o l d r i c k , s t a t e d , " h e m o f i l t r a t i o n is a b u s i n e s s a r e a t h a t h a s g r e a t p o t e n t i a l for M i n n t e c h , b u t r e q u i r e s a n established distribution network and extensive marketing presence." He added that the strategic a l l i a n c e will i m p r o v e c u s t o m e r s a c c e s s to t h e r a n g e of hemofiltration products. For f u r t h e r information, contact: Minntech Corp., 14605 28th A v e n u e North, Minneapolis, MN 55447, USA. Tel: +1 612 553 3 3 0 0 ; f a x : +1 612 553 3387.

PCI u n v e i l UltraBar at IWEX'97 PCI M e m b r a n e S y s t e m s , UK, p a r t of t h e T h a m e s W a t e r g r o u p of c o m p a n i e s , r e c e n t l y u n v e i l e d t h e Ultrafiltration B a r r i e r P r o c e s s (UltraBar) a t IWEX'97 in B i r m i n g h a m , UK. PCI s t a t e t h a t t h e s y s t e m is d e s i g n e d for a w i d e r a n g e of w a t e r t r e a t m e n t a p p l i c a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g : s u r f a c e t r e a t m e n t for t u r b i d i t y a n d m i c r o - o r g a n i s m r e m o v a l (i.e. c r y p t o s p o r i d i u m ) ; g r o u n d w a t e r t r e a t m e n t for protection against surface water ingress; pret r e a t m e n t to o t h e r m e m b r a n e s y s t e m s (reverse o s m o s i s ) ; a n d filter b a c k w a s h t r e a t m e n t for w a t e r r e c o v e r y w i t h o u t t h e r i s k of r e c y c l i n g m i c r o o r g a n i s m s . PCI r e p o r t t h a t h o l l o w u l t r a f i l t r a t i o n m e m b r a n e s a r e a t t h e h e a r t of t h e U l t r a B a r t r e a t m e n t p r o c e s s , and maintain that the membranes surpass conventional clarification/filtration treatment p r o c e s s e s . In a d d i t i o n PCI s t a t e t h a t t h e p e r m a n e n t h y d r o p h i l i c p o l y m e r m e m b r a n e e x h i b i t s low fouling r a t e s a n d h a s a c u t - o f f of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 0.011Jm r e s u l t i n g in >4 log r e m o v a l r a t e s for c r y p t o / g i a r d i a a n d >3 log r e m o v a l of v i r u s e s . T h e m e m b r a n e c o m e s in a r a n g e of fibre d i a m e t e r s giving a g r e a t e r flexibility in t e r m s of d i f f e r e n t a p p l i c a t i o n s , a n d is r e s i s t a n t to free c h l o r i n e t h e r e b y a l l o w i n g efficient s a n i t i s a t i o n . T h e m e m b r a n e e l e m e n t c o m p r i s e s a PVC s h e l l s u r r o u n d i n g a b u n d l e of h o l l o w fibre m e m b r a n e s . S e v e r a l m e m b r a n e e l e m e n t s c a n b e c o n n e c t e d in s e r i e s i n s i d e o n e s t a n d a r d 8" p r e s s u r e v e s s e l . A c c o r d i n g to PCI, t h i s a l l o w s t h e p r o c e s s a n d h y d r a u l i c s a n d o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s to b e o p t i m i s e d for e a c h a p p l i c a t i o n .

M e m b r a n e T e c h n o l o g y No. 91

W a t e r is u s e d for b a c k w a s h i n g r a t h e r t h a n air, w h i c h r e d u c e s t h e s t r e s s o n t h e h o l l o w fibres. PCI s t a t e t h a t w a t e r from t h e b a c k w a s h f r o m t h e o u t s i d e of t h e fibres, gives efficient b a c k w a s h i n g a n d r e c o v e r y of f i l t r a t i o n p e r f o r m a n c e . P e r i o d i c a d d i t i o n of c h e m i c a l a d d i t i v e s s u c h a s s o d i u m h y p o c h l o r i t e to t h e backwash further enhances the cleaning. PCI-Membrane Systems in-house engineering team h a n d l e t h e d e s i g n of t h e c o m p l e t e w a t e r t r e a t m e n t s y s t e m . P l a n t d e s i g n is b a s e d on a n u m b e r of p r e e n g i n e e r e d p a c k a g e u n i t s in t h e f o r m of m e m b r a n e module and piping skids. Standardised skid design k e e p s c a p i t a l c o s t s low b u t still a l l o w s a s p e c t s of t h e e n g i n e e r i n g d e s i g n to b e t a i l o r e d to t h e c l i e n t s own needs and specification. For f u r t h e r information contact: PCI Membrane S y s t e m s Ltd, Laverstoke Mill, Whitchurch, RG28 7NR, UK. Tel: +1 44 1256 8 9 6 9 6 6 ; f a x : +44 1256 893835. email: [email protected]

RO element from Fluid Systems California-based membrane company Fluid Systems Corp. h a s d e v e l o p e d a n e w r a n g e of r e v e r s e o s m o s i s e l e m e n t s w h i c h offer e x t r e m e r e j e c t i o n of s a l t , s i l i c a a n d t o t a l o r g a n i c c o n t e n t . A c c o r d i n g to F l u i d S y s t e m s , the TFC-XR reverse osmosis membrane elements p r o v i d e over 9 9 . 7 % s i l i c a a n d over 9 9 . 6 % s a l t r e m o v a l . Fluid Systems claim that the very high rejection rates are higher than any other membrane element c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e , a n d a d d t h a t w h e t h e r u s e d in a p r i m a r y loop or p o l i s h i n g loop, t h e s e e l e m e n t s p r o v i d e e x t r e m e i m p r o v e m e n t s in w a t e r q u a l i t y . T h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s e e s a d i v e r s e r a n g e of a p p l i c a t i o n s for t h e T F C - X R RO e l e m e n t s , i n c l u d i n g s e m i c o n d u c t o r r i n s i n g in t h e e l e c t r o n i c s i n d u s t r y a l o n g w i t h a p p l i c a t i o n s in t h e p h a r m a c e u t i c a l a n d power industries. Fluid S y s t e m s , 10054 Old Grove Road, S a n Diego, CA 92131, USA. Tel: +1 619 695 3 8 4 0 ; f a x : +1 619 695 2176.

RO membrane cuts cost in Middle East Weir W e s t g a r t h r e c e n t l y r e p o r t e d t h a t b y i n c o r p o r a t i n g a n e w h i g h p e r f o r m a n c e RO m e m b r a n e i n t o a s m a l l

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