ESCO completes sale of MF separations businesses

ESCO completes sale of MF separations businesses

ISSN 0958-2118 May 2004 www.filtsep.com American Water sells FB Leopold to PNC Equity Partners Seprotech awarded US company American Water is selling...

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ISSN 0958-2118 May 2004 www.filtsep.com

American Water sells FB Leopold to PNC Equity Partners Seprotech awarded US company American Water is selling water fil- operation and growth of American Water.’ Canadian Army contract tration systems manufacturer FB Leopold Co Inc to private equity firm PNC Equity Partners. Dan Kelleher, senior vice president of American Water, says the decision to sell Leopold reflects the company’s strategy to focus on its core water and wastewater utility service business. ‘We started with Leopold in the US a little more than a decade ago, and today we are providing 20 million people with water and a wastewater service,’ he says. ‘As our strategy shifted more to the delivery of water and wastewater services, it became clear that selling Leopold was the right business decision, and was consistent with our long-term business strategy. Our focus in North America is on the efficient

Leopold, based in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, was purchased during 1992 by RWE Thames Water and is part of the Americas Region of the RWE Water Division. The acquisition marked RWE Thames Water’s first entry into the US market. Contacts: The FB Leopold Co Inc, 227 South Division Street, Zelienople, PA 16063, USA. Tel: +1 724 452 6300, Fax: +1 724 452 1377, Web: www.fbleopold.com The FB Leopold Co Inc, Office 4, Maylite Business Centre, Maylite Trading Estate, Martley, Worcs. WR6 6PQ, UK. Tel: +44 1886 887759, Fax: +44 1886 887703.

CB&I, W.R. Grace to market desulfurization process In the US, CB&I – through its subsidiary CB&I Howe-Baker – has initiated a joint agreement with W.R. Grace & Co’s Davison Membranes to market its S-Brane membranebased gasoline desulfurization process. A demonstration plant for the process has been operational at ConocoPhillips’ refinery in Bayway, New Jersey since mid-2003, and the process is now available for commercial applications. According to CB&I, the S-Brane membrane process complements existing and new hydrotreating facilities. It produces a gasoline stream that is capable of complying with low-sulfur

Contact:

specifications, unloads existing hydro-treating Seprotech Systems Inc, 2378 Holly Lane, Ottawa, Ontario facilities, and results in an overall increase in the K1V 7P1, Canada. Tel: +1 613 523 1641, Fax: +1 613 731 0851, Web: www.seprotech.com petrol blending pool octane value. Contacts: CB&I Howe-Baker International, 3102 East Fifth Street, Tyler, TX 75701, USA. Tel: +1 903 597 0311, Fax: +1 903 597 8670, Web: www.cbiepc.com/cbi-howe-baker/ index.html W.R. Grace & Co, 7500 Grace Drive, Columbia, MD 21044, USA. Tel: +1 410 531 4000, Fax: +1 410 531 4367, Web: www.grace.com

ESCO completes sale of MF separations businesses ESCO Technologies of St Louis, Missouri has completed the sale of two of its three microfiltration (MF) and separations businesses. PTI Advanced Filtration Inc (based in Oxnard, California) and PTI Technologies Ltd (Sheffield, UK) were sold to UK-based Domnick Hunter Group for US$18m in cash. The company’s management expects to sell the remaining business – PTI SpA in Milan, Italy – before the end of this fiscal year. PTI SpA

Water and wastewater treatment systems manufacturer Seprotech Systems has been awarded a contract by Canada’s Department of National Defence to repair and overhaul its ‘fleet’ of RO water purification units (ROWPUs). The contract, for an initial period of one year and valued at C$1.0m (US$735 000), can be extended for a further year for a further C$1.0m. A ROWPU is a packaged water treatment system that provides Canadian Forces’ personnel with clean drinking water from virtually any source of raw water. The systems have been deployed worldwide, and periodically require refurbishment to ensure optimal operation. The technically complex systems use membranes to separate from water contaminants including nuclear, biological and chemical agents.

will continue to be accounted for as a discontinued operation through to the date of divestment. The proceeds from the sale of the ‘MicroSep’ businesses will be used for general corporate purposes, including potential funding of acquisitions. Contact: ESCO Technologies Inc, 8888 Ladue Road, Suite 200, St Louis, MO 63124, USA. Tel: +1 314 213 7200, Fax: +1 314 213 7250, Web: www.escotechnologies.com

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Contents News

1–4

In Brief

3, 4

Features: Novel membrane-related technologies aid biological analyses

5–7

Recent developments in polymer electrolyte membranebased fuel cells 7–9 CMF-S system aids microfiltration scale-up and reduces capital costs Patents

10–12 12–15

Events Calendar

15

Research Trends

16