Business News Round Up- Nov. 2

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.

Modern Water Enter Into A New Collaboration

Modern Water has entered into a collaboration agreement with WEC Projects of Johannesburg to promote its innovative and proprietary All-Membrane Brine Concentration (AMBC) technology throughout Africa.

“Host to numerous industry sectors, Southern Africa in particular is a potentially large market for AMBC since the region is increasingly subject to strict water treatment regulations brought on by a severe water shortage,” said Wayne Taljaard, CEO. “Modern Water's proprietary brine concentrator is an innovative solution capable of reducing wastewater treatment requirements and maximizing clean-water reuse in a wide range of industrial applications, including mining, power, oil & gas and desalination plants.”

New PowerFlex AC Drive Option Module

AC drive applications that require safety functionality can now benefit from the integration of safety and standard control systems on a single network using one controller. The Integrated Safety Functions Option Module from Rockwell Automation offers safety functions based on IEC 61800-5-2 standards for Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 755 and 755T AC drives. It includes the ability to monitor speed, direction and position on an EtherNet/IP network.

“With integrated safety functions, manufacturers can streamline operations while creating opportunities to reduce costs and increase productivity,” said Chunbing Zhang, senior product specialist at Rockwell Automation. “The integration of the safety and standard control systems also provides operators and maintenance personnel visibility to all machine events – including safety events. This enables a quick response that allows the machine to return to full production faster.”

Current Convenes Top Water Industry Leaders at Innovators Forum

Current hosted its second annual Innovators Forum. The forum brought together 150 of the water and wastewater industry’s leading innovators, investors, and end-users for compelling panels and roundtable discussions during the Water Environment Foundation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), the world’s largest annual water quality technical conference, on Oct. 2 in New Orleans.

“Current was honored to host a successful forum of prominent industry leaders to discuss how digital solutions are reshaping the industry,” said Steve Frenkel, executive director of Current. “This year’s theme, ‘The Intelligent Water Transformation,’ provided attendees meaningful insights about the opportunities and challenges of navigating the complex landscape of quickly-emerging smart water solutions.”

American Water Employees Contribute 5,000 Volunteer Hours Across U.S. During Month of Service

American Water held its company-wide AmerICANs in Action! Month of Service employee volunteer event in September. More than 1,200 employees stepped up to help their neighbors, participating in 90 different community volunteer projects and providing a record-breaking 5,000 hours of service.

“Our employees are fully dedicated to making the communities where we live and work better because we are there,” said Susan Story, president and chief executive officer. “We are committed to helping those we serve every day of the year, and our AmerICANs in Action! Month of Service is a great opportunity for American Water employees across the country to support our neighbors and customers.”

Florida DEP to Suspend $12 Million

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is offering the suspension of up to $12 million in wastewater and drinking water facility loan repayments and interest accrual for two years. This will provide cities and counties impacted by Hurricane Michael with flexible local funding that can be used for more urgent needs, while focusing their resources on rebuilding their communities as quickly as possible.

“The health and safety of our communities continues to be our top priority,” said Noah Valenstein, DEP Secretary. “Suspending these loan repayments will keep $12 million in these local communities to help them quickly rebuild and recover.”