Editor's Note: Each week, Water & Wastes Digest will post an aggregate of business news briefs and networking news items to keep you informed on facility openings, business mergers and purchases, changes in personnel and award notifications, among others in the water and wastewater treatment industries. If you have business news briefs you would like included in this weekly round up, please email the press release, photo and a link to the post on your website to [email protected] with the subject line "Business News Round Up." One news item per company per week will be posted.
City of Boise, Idaho, and Pierce County, Wash., Public Works Projects Judged the Nation’s Best
The American Public Works Association announced the winners of its 2018 Public Works Projects of the Year competition. The awards program promotes excellence in the management and administration of public works projects, recognizing the alliance among the managing agency, the contractor, the consultant, and their cooperative achievements. This year’s award winners were recognized during APWA’s Public Works Expo on August 27 in Kansas City, Mo.
Within the environment category, two water projects were deemed best-in-class: Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion (Pierce County Planning & Public Works) and Dixie Drain Phosphorus Removal Facility (City of Boise Public Works Department).
American Water Awards Water and Wastewater Treatment Contract to Fort Leonard Wood
American Water announced its Military Services Group have been awarded a contract for ownership, operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater systems at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
“Serving those who serve our country’s national security interests is a great honor for American Water,” said Susan Story, president and CEO of American Water. “With the addition of Fort Leonard Wood,American Water has expanded its footprint to provide safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater treatment services for service members, families and civilians at 14 military bases across the country.”
SUEZ to Open New Mobile Water Service Center in Atlanta
Mobile, on-demand water treatment solutions are valuable options for industries needing high-quality water in an emergency or for a scheduled outage. To better serve its customers in the Southeastern United States, SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions is opening a new mobile water service center in Atlanta.
SUEZ offers the world's largest fleet of mobile water treatment systems, supplying any water quantity and quality needed on a short-term, emergency or commissioning basis and for long-term service contracts. The new Atlanta service center will enable SUEZ to provide faster delivery of mobile water treatment systems for the Southeast, which equates to less downtime at a plant and increased cost savings.
Water Environment Federation Selects 2018 WEF Fellows for Contributions to Water Profession
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announced 15 distinguished members as the 2018 WEF Fellows recipients. This prestigious designation recognizes members’ achievements, stature, and contributions in the water profession.
"The impressive accomplishments of this year's WEF Fellows have made a profound impact in the water profession," said Eileen O'Neill, WEF Executive Director. "We are honored to recognize their efforts to preserve and enhance the global water environment.”
SA Wins Virginia SPQA Award
The Prince William County Service Authority was recognized on September 12 for winning the 2018 Virginia SPQA Achievement Award from the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA) Program. SPQA uses the national Malcolm Baldrige Excellence Framework to set quality standards for Performance Excellence and to help organizations cultivate continuous improvement at every level.
Earlier this year, a team of SPQA examiners assessed the Service Authority against the framework and visited the water and wastewater utilities facilities to observe and get a deeper understanding of its processes.
PumpMan Increases Phoenix Presence with Acquisition of Scott's AZ Motor Electric Repair
PumpMan successfully completed its second acquisition in the Phoenix market with the purchase of Scott's AZ Motor Electric Repair (Scott's). Scott's provides service and repair for mechanical components such as motors, pumps, head pulleys, fans, blowers, and motor controls for the commercial and industrial segments.
"As PumpMan expands its network of high-quality service centers around the U.S., it's only natural that we add a company with complementary competencies like Scott's," said Donald Devine, President and CEO of PumpMan. "As one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., Phoenix is an ideal market for expansion of the network. With the acquisition of Scott's and the recent purchase of Southwest Waterworks Contractors, we now offer comprehensive pump system repair services to the region."
New Look and Website for BJM Pumps
BJM Pumps have been making a number of changes to help drive their joint growth. These changes have included additions to their sales and operations teams, investments in new products, implementing a new lead generation program, and implementing a more focused marketing plan.
Ostara to Deliver City of Atlanta Nutrient Recovery Facility Through Alternative Finance Model
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, Inc. (Ostara) has announced its partnership with the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management to install and operate a Nutrient Recovery Facility at the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, delivered under a design-build agreement and financed through a unique operating lease model.
“We are very proud to partner with the City of Atlanta on this project to provide a cost effective and environmentally progressive solution to support the City’s Watershed Management Wastewater Master Plan,” said Dan Parmar, Ostara’s President and CEO. “It’s good to be part of a solution that solves operational issues, helps meet nutrient limits, and protects local waterways.”
GrowFL Announces 50 Florida Companies to Watch
U.S. Submergent Technologies (USST) is among GrowFL’s Companies to Watch for 2018. USST is the only company in its category to be recognized.
“We are thrilled and humbled to have been selected as a Florida Company to Watch and it is a privilege to share this honor with 49 prestigious companies,” said Denver Stutler Jr., USST’s CEO. “Our unique, patented Combination3®truck is the only one of its kind, coupled with our entire USST team, we stand ready to solve problems for our customers by restoring the capacity of wet infrastructure.”
Tech Challenge Connects Innovative Water Solutions with Industry Needs
The Water Council announced the launch of its Tech Challenge program, a series of global competitions to identify freshwater technologies and ideas with high potential for commercialization or implementation. Each Tech Challenge is designed around a topic identified by corporate sponsors and is open to any person or any company around the world with a cutting-edge technology or good idea.
Companies developing water technology and those who use a large amount of water in their manufacturing and operations invest significant time, personnel and money into new product development. The Tech Challenge will assist these companies by leveraging The Water Council’s network to find solutions in an expedited amount of time.
Mueller Water Products Unveils New Brand Identity at WEFTEC 18
Mueller Water Products, Inc. introduced its new brand identity and refreshed logo at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference in New Orleans.
“Over the past 160 years, we’ve built a strong family of brands,” said Greg Rogowski, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mueller Water Products. “We’re taking our legacy of product excellence, customer service, technology and innovation from all of our brands and bringing them together to provide end-to-end water system solutions.”
Water Environment Federation Announces Graduates of 2018 Water Leadership Institute
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announced the graduates of its Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018. The Water Leadership Institute program is aimed at educating and training leaders and providing them with opportunities to build strong, lasting relationships within the water sector. The program allows participants to engage in management training and leadership development through a learning approach that includes examining complex challenges facing the water and wastewater industries and networking with public and private sector practitioners.
“The Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018 represents the range of talent that the future of the sector depends on,” said Eileen O’Neill, WEF Executive Director. “We look forward to seeing the impact this impressive group will have within the profession.”
Sherman-Williams Announces 2018 Water & Wastewater Impact Award Winners
The 2018 Sherwin-Williams Impact Award went to a 3 million gal water storage tank restoration project performed under difficult conditions. Crew members from HCI Industrial & Marine Coatings Inc. (HCI) had to battle smoke from the nearby Eagle Creek fire and prevent that smoke from absorbing into the interior tank coating and affecting the taste of water stored in the tank. HCI, the city of The Dalles, Oregon, and engineering services provider CH2M Inc. earned the 2018 Sherwin-Williams Impact Award. The award recognizes notable projects featuring coating and lining materials from Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings. The company announced the winners during a ceremony at the Water Environment Federation’s Annual WEFTEC Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“We established the Sherwin-Williams Impact Award to honor demanding water and wastewater projects and recognize those professionals committed to enhancing public safety, protecting assets, and extending infrastructure life,” said Kevin Morris, Market Segment Director, Water & Wastewater, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings. “The winning project faced unique challenges that none of the parties involved had ever encountered. We all worked together to devise a plan that would ensure adhesion of the water tank’s coating systems and prevent smoke from adversely impacting the community’s water quality.”
Veolia North America Partners with Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority in Wayne County, Mich.
Veolia North America announced it has entered into a contract to assume operations and management responsibilities for wastewater services in 13 tributary communities in Wayne County, Mich.
The company will operate and maintain the wastewater plant in Wyandotte, Mich., on behalf of the Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority, which assumed ownership of the plant after completing a transaction with Wayne County. The Downriver System serves a population of 350,000 in the communities of Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown Township, Ecorse, Dearborn Heights, Lincoln Park, River Rouge, Riverview, Romulus, Southgate, Taylor, Van Buren Township and Wyandotte.
LuminUltra Acquires Aqua-tools’ Rapid Microbial Solutions Division
LuminUltra has acquired aqua-tools’ Rapid Microbial Solutions division, including its B-QUA product line for ballast water compliance monitoring and the European customer base for its 2nd Generation ATP measurement products.
This is the second acquisition by LuminUltra in recent weeks – the company’s purchase of Baltimore, Maryland-based InstantLabs, a developer of DNA-based measurement technologies, was announced on September 19.
Networking News
- ALL-TEST Pro, LLC announced Carl Schultz as Regional Sales Manager.
- Brian McNeil joins Pulsafeeder as Regional Sales & Business Development Manager.
- Michael Fontaine is Pulsafeeder’s new Sales Account Manager.
- Michael Bargas is now Pulsafeeder’s new Sales director.
