Business News Round Up - August 9, 2019

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.

Franklin Electric Acquires First Sales LLC

Franklin Electric Co. Inc. completed its acquisition of First Sales LLC, an Indiana manufacturer of water treatment and filtration equipment for the residential and commercial markets.

First Sales designs, manufactures and distributes its products under the Sterling Water Treatment and Avid Water Systems brand names, primarily for customers in the U.S. First Sales’ operating results will be reported in the Water Systems segment beginning in the third quarter of 2019. In fiscal year 2018, First Sales had annual sales of approximately $14 million.

Kemco Systems Announces Acquisition of Water Resources Inc.

Kemco Systems advanced its position in industrial wastewater treatment through the acquisition of Auburn, Ala., based dissolved air flotation company Water Resources Inc. The acquisition expands Kemco’s engineered wastewater treatment capabilities in the growing industrial markets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Opto 22 Responds to Inquiries Regarding URGENT/11

The announcement of security vulnerabilities discovered in the Wind River VxWorks IPnet TCP/IP stack prompted questions from Opto 22 customers about what impact this discovery may have on TCP/IP-based products developed and manufactured by Opto 22, according to to an Opto 22 release.

Opto 22 would reassured customers that none of its hardware or software products contain the VxWorks IPnet TCP/IP stack or variants of that software and are, therefore, not directly exposed to any attacks that might target these vulnerabilities. This statement applies to the recent Opto 22 product family groov EPIC (edge programmable industrial controller), the groov Edge Appliance (groov Box), the SNAP PAC System, and SNAP Ethernet I/O products.

Water Sector Discusses Workforce Issues at Symposium in D.C.

Utility leaders and other professionals from across North America discussed challenges and opportunities at a symposium in Washington, D.C., Aug. 8 to 9.

The Transformative Issues Symposium on Workforce, co-hosted by the American Water Works Assn. and the Water Environment Federation, featured presentations by workforce experts and will engage attendees in discussions to help foster the exchange of ideas on this critical issue for utilities.

Aries Ind. Expands Network

Aries Industries added two companies to its growing network of dealers. Williams Equipment, based in Henderson, Colo., for more than 40 years, delivers sewer cleaning, video inspection and utility construction equipment to municipalities and contractors. As an Aries Ind. dealer, it will sell and service Aries pipeline video inspection products, such as the Mobile Pathfinder System, to customers in Colorado and New Mexico.

Also joining the Aries family of dealers is Instrument Technology Corp. (ITC), located in Sonoma County, Calif. ITC has offered a blend of products and services to the northern California subsurface utility engineering community for nearly 20 years. As an authorized dealer, ITC will provide Aries Ind. products and service to customers in northern California and Nevada.

IDA Board of Directors Voting Open to Members

International Desalination Assn. (IDA) Directors are elected by a direct vote of IDA’s Class I and Class II members. IDA Members will receive an email with a one-click option to enter the eballot system and vote. Voting will close on Sep. 25, 2019. Results will be posted on the IDA website by Oc. 5, 2019 and members will be notified of the results by email.

Evoqua Selected to Expand Treatment Capacity in Alabama

Evoqua Water Technologies announced it has been selected by the City of Prattville, Ala., to upgrade its wastewater treatment system. By installing Evoqua’s technology, the city will address biological nutrient removal and accommodate future population growth. Prattville’s wastewater system was projected to reach its capacity as the population of the surrounding area grew.

Evoqua’s VertiCel System was incorporated into Prattville’s wastewater treatment system, which included tanks with fine bubble diffusers, to achieve additional capacity and meet nutrient removal requirements. The system uses vertical loop reactors operated in series that allow dissolved oxidation stratification at the front of the process combined with fine bubble tanks at the end of the process to maximize energy efficiency and process flexibility.