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Devcon forms joint venture with Matrix Desalination
Filtration Industry Analyst
IN BRIEF/NEWS
IN BRIEF • Cummins Inc has been ranked number 43 in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the top 50 US companies for minorities. This is the second time in three years that the business magazine has recognized Cummins employment practices in this area. Cummins commitment to establishing a diverse workforce has included putting all of its 23 700 employees through a diversity awareness training course. It has also established 48 local diversity councils around the world to raise issues of recruitment, retention and cultural differences and similarities in the workplace. • Weir Westgarth Ltd of Glasgow, UK has received approval to ISO14001, with certification to this standard having been set as a target for all companies within the Weir Group plc. In addition, the Techna Division is now more than half way to achieving certification for all the companies under its umbrella. • puraDYN Filter Technologies Inc has received confirmation of worldwide coverage on its patent for an all-in-one full flow/bypass oil filtration system. Kevin Kroger, puraDYN’s president and COO, said the system gives virtually all engines the opportunity to have all-in-one oil filtration. “We anticipate great interest from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Engine OEMs will be able to deliver a single system, mounted to the engine, which can provide simultaneous full-flow and bypass oil filtration. This single system would supply the fine oil filtration puraDYN is known for.”
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July 2003
Continued from page 1 As part of the restructuring programme, Sartorius has established a transfer association to provide training and support for employees affected by the changes. All retrenched staff will be supported by this organization for up to 12 months, while impacted employees aged over 55 have the option of an additional 12 months employment with the association. Based in Goettingen, Germany, Sartorius supplies process technology to the biotechnology and mechatronics sectors. Its biotechnology segment focuses on filtration and separation applications, fermenters and proteomics. The mechatronics segment consists primarily of products for measurement and automation technology in laboratory and industrial applications. The company’s job cuts come in response to a drop in both sales revenues and order intake, particularly impacting the mechatronics division, attributed to the weak economy and unfavourable exchange rates. Sartorius employs 3750 people and has production facilities in Europe, Asia and the USA, as well as sales subsidiaries and local commercial agencies in more than 110 countries. In 2002, the firm earned sales revenue of 476.5 million.
DEVCON FORMS JOINT VENTURE WITH MATRIX DESALINATION Building materials firm Devcon International Corp has formed a joint venture with Matrix Desalination Inc to build, own and operate reverse osmosis fresh water, wastewater treatment and power systems. The joint venture, Devcon/Matrix Utility Resources
LLC, will be 80% owned by Devcon. It will target the Caribbean region and will combine the technical expertise of Matrix Desalination with the financial strength and site preparation resources of Devcon. The venture is based at Devcon’s headquarters in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA. Donald Smith Jr, Devcon chairman and president, said the joint venture would evaluate opportunities for build– own–operate facilities within Devcon’s primary market areas. “Our company’s construction contracting and construction materials businesses are concentrated in the eastern Caribbean from Puerto Rico to Aruba and in the Bahamas,” he said. “Our projects are often in areas that require additional fresh water, wastewater treatment and power systems.” Smith said the joint venture was the result of a recommendation from a task force commissioned by Devcon’s board to explore new avenues to more effectively deploy its resources. “We feel this is a new strategic direction for the company and one with much promise,” he said. As projects are approved, Devcon will fund the venture with up to US$2.4 million in cash and loans plus a guarantee of up to an additional US$2.4 million in project financing. Devcon produces and distributes crushed stone, readymix concrete and concrete block in the eastern Caribbean including the US Virgin Islands, Netherland Antilles and Puerto Rico. The company also dredges harbours, builds marine facilities, constructs golf courses and prepares residential, commercial and industrial sites. Matrix, founded in 1986, provides reverse osmosis desalination systems for marine and land-based applications. Based in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, it has a staff of seven engineers and system designers and a total of 35 employees.
EPA SELECTS TECHNOLOGIES FOR ARSENIC TREATMENT PROJECT The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has commenced the second stage of its National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Project that ultimately aims to deliver better drinking water to US households. The EPA project is evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water treatment technologies, process modifications, and engineering approaches at a number of host sites. The goal is to identify technology that can be used to meet a new US standard for drinking water that sets a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion. The EPA estimates that approximately 13 million people in the USA routinely drink water with arsenic at concentrations above this level. The second stage of the project is evaluating commercially-ready systems after round one, which commenced in 2002, examined emerging technologies. Among the technologies to be evaluated in round two is the SORB 33 arsenic removal technology and Bayoxide E33 media developed by Severn Trent Services of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. Part of the UK’s Severn Trent Group, Severn Trent Services developed the SORB 33 process to reduce arsenic contamination across a range of water treatment system sizes, while Bayoxide E33 is a dry, crystalline granular ferric oxide media designed with a high capacity for arsenic. These technologies will be evaluated at six of the 12 demonstration sites in the
IN BRIEF/NEWS
IN BRIEF • Cummins Inc has been ranked number 43 in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the top 50 US companies for minorities. This is the second time in three years that the business magazine has recognized Cummins employment practices in this area. Cummins commitment to establishing a diverse workforce has included putting all of its 23 700 employees through a diversity awareness training course. It has also established 48 local diversity councils around the world to raise issues of recruitment, retention and cultural differences and similarities in the workplace. • Weir Westgarth Ltd of Glasgow, UK has received approval to ISO14001, with certification to this standard having been set as a target for all companies within the Weir Group plc. In addition, the Techna Division is now more than half way to achieving certification for all the companies under its umbrella. • puraDYN Filter Technologies Inc has received confirmation of worldwide coverage on its patent for an all-in-one full flow/bypass oil filtration system. Kevin Kroger, puraDYN’s president and COO, said the system gives virtually all engines the opportunity to have all-in-one oil filtration. “We anticipate great interest from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Engine OEMs will be able to deliver a single system, mounted to the engine, which can provide simultaneous full-flow and bypass oil filtration. This single system would supply the fine oil filtration puraDYN is known for.”
12
July 2003
Continued from page 1 As part of the restructuring programme, Sartorius has established a transfer association to provide training and support for employees affected by the changes. All retrenched staff will be supported by this organization for up to 12 months, while impacted employees aged over 55 have the option of an additional 12 months employment with the association. Based in Goettingen, Germany, Sartorius supplies process technology to the biotechnology and mechatronics sectors. Its biotechnology segment focuses on filtration and separation applications, fermenters and proteomics. The mechatronics segment consists primarily of products for measurement and automation technology in laboratory and industrial applications. The company’s job cuts come in response to a drop in both sales revenues and order intake, particularly impacting the mechatronics division, attributed to the weak economy and unfavourable exchange rates. Sartorius employs 3750 people and has production facilities in Europe, Asia and the USA, as well as sales subsidiaries and local commercial agencies in more than 110 countries. In 2002, the firm earned sales revenue of 476.5 million.
DEVCON FORMS JOINT VENTURE WITH MATRIX DESALINATION Building materials firm Devcon International Corp has formed a joint venture with Matrix Desalination Inc to build, own and operate reverse osmosis fresh water, wastewater treatment and power systems. The joint venture, Devcon/Matrix Utility Resources
LLC, will be 80% owned by Devcon. It will target the Caribbean region and will combine the technical expertise of Matrix Desalination with the financial strength and site preparation resources of Devcon. The venture is based at Devcon’s headquarters in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA. Donald Smith Jr, Devcon chairman and president, said the joint venture would evaluate opportunities for build– own–operate facilities within Devcon’s primary market areas. “Our company’s construction contracting and construction materials businesses are concentrated in the eastern Caribbean from Puerto Rico to Aruba and in the Bahamas,” he said. “Our projects are often in areas that require additional fresh water, wastewater treatment and power systems.” Smith said the joint venture was the result of a recommendation from a task force commissioned by Devcon’s board to explore new avenues to more effectively deploy its resources. “We feel this is a new strategic direction for the company and one with much promise,” he said. As projects are approved, Devcon will fund the venture with up to US$2.4 million in cash and loans plus a guarantee of up to an additional US$2.4 million in project financing. Devcon produces and distributes crushed stone, readymix concrete and concrete block in the eastern Caribbean including the US Virgin Islands, Netherland Antilles and Puerto Rico. The company also dredges harbours, builds marine facilities, constructs golf courses and prepares residential, commercial and industrial sites. Matrix, founded in 1986, provides reverse osmosis desalination systems for marine and land-based applications. Based in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, it has a staff of seven engineers and system designers and a total of 35 employees.
EPA SELECTS TECHNOLOGIES FOR ARSENIC TREATMENT PROJECT The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has commenced the second stage of its National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Project that ultimately aims to deliver better drinking water to US households. The EPA project is evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water treatment technologies, process modifications, and engineering approaches at a number of host sites. The goal is to identify technology that can be used to meet a new US standard for drinking water that sets a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion. The EPA estimates that approximately 13 million people in the USA routinely drink water with arsenic at concentrations above this level. The second stage of the project is evaluating commercially-ready systems after round one, which commenced in 2002, examined emerging technologies. Among the technologies to be evaluated in round two is the SORB 33 arsenic removal technology and Bayoxide E33 media developed by Severn Trent Services of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. Part of the UK’s Severn Trent Group, Severn Trent Services developed the SORB 33 process to reduce arsenic contamination across a range of water treatment system sizes, while Bayoxide E33 is a dry, crystalline granular ferric oxide media designed with a high capacity for arsenic. These technologies will be evaluated at six of the 12 demonstration sites in the