Business News Round Up - March 29

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.

Centrisys Receives Award From Salvation Army

Centrisys/CNP is proud to announce that they have been recognized for their charitable contributions by the Kenosha Salvation Army. Centrisys was awarded the 2019 Other’s Award Recipient in the category of “Resources Supporting Others.”

“By May 2019, the Centrisys/CNP employees will have contributed over $15,000 to the Salvation Army and the company matches match all of our employees’ contributions dollar-for-dollar,” said Jim Andresen, the company’s COO.

Grundfos Awarded Global Company of the Year

Grundfos won the award for Company of the Year in the global water and wastewater pumps market at the annual awards show of consultancy company Frost & Sullivan held in London last week.

In the award report, Frost & Sullivan cited superior offerings of sustainable solutions for a better world and commitment towards a customer-centric service, coupled with market foresight and innovation- driven growth.

Kamstrup Continues Growth

Kamstrup has posted record-breaking revenue for the ninth year in a row with turnover of $367 million in 2018. The pre-tax profit for 2018 was $49 million.

The result further solidifies Kamstrup's position as one of the front-runners in the digitization of water and energy distribution networks around the world, according to Kamstrup CEO Kim Lehmann.

MARS Extends Test Bench Upgrade Program

MARS Company have announced that due to overwhelming positive demand it has extended the C715 Test Bench Equipment Upgrade Program. This upgrade program allows MARS' customers to protect their equipment investment and provides special incentives enabling customers to upgrade their existing MARS test bench equipment to comply with the new ANSI/AWWA C715-18 industry standard.

The purpose of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) /American Water Works Association (AWWA) C715-18 standard for "Cold-Water Meters-Electromagnetic and Ultrasonic Type, for Revenue Application" is to provide the minimum requirements for potable cold-water meters of the electromagnetic and ultrasonic type for revenue applications. The C715-18 standard was effective October 1, 2018 and approved by: (i) the AWWA Board of Directors June 9, 2018 and, (ii) ANSI June 15, 2018. MARS Company continues its industry leadership by offering the ANSI / AWWA C715 Compliance Upgrade Program enabling customers to upgrade their existing MARS test bench equipment to required industry standards.

Cynash Expands to Northern Ireland With New Office and Subsidiary

Cynash Inc. has announced the opening of a new office in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the formation of an international subsidiary.

Cynash International Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cynash Inc. Instrumental to this expansion was Invest Northern Ireland, a business development agency that attracts new investment to Northern Ireland while helping businesses compete internationally. The office opened on March 14.

U.S. Water Services Joins Kurita Water Industries Ltd.

U.S. Water Services, Inc. has announced that is has joined the Kurita Water Industries Ltd. companies, a leading international water management company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The acquisition was announced in early February 2019 and was completed effective March 26, 2019.

“The closing of this transaction represents a new and exciting chapter for U.S. Water,” said LaMarr Barnes, U.S. Water CEO. “The Kurita Group represents world class leadership, technology, and investment in innovation in the water and environmental solutions industry. Together with the existing Kurita Group companies in North America (Kurita America Inc. and Fremont Industries), we will leverage our technologies and build a solid foundation to offer our customers advanced solutions and capabilities to meet their unique water and energy needs.”

XPV Water Partners Invests In Holland Pump Company

XPV Water Partners, has announced that it has invested in Holland Pump Company. The Company is a leading independent specialty pump rental and dewatering solutions provider in the United States.

Infrastructure renewal, continued industrial expansion, and the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events are all drivers of demand for specialty pump rentals.

Brown and Caldwell Selected to Lead Colorado Water Development Study

Brown and Caldwell has announced its selection by the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District and other stakeholders to lead the South Platte Regional Water Development Study.

The seventh fastest-growing state in 2018 per the U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado is expected to add three million new residents by 2050. In the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the South Platte River Basin (basin), home to most of the state’s population, is challenged with the greatest projected water supply gap of any of Colorado’s river basins.

WSSC Now Accepting Applications for Commissioners’ Engineering Scholarship Program

Why is tap water better than bottled? That’s what engineering students will answer as part of their application to WSSC’s annual Commissioners’ Engineering Scholarship Program, worth up to $10,000 in scholarship money and paid internship experience over four years. The scholarship program, which officially opened today, supports the Commission’s ongoing efforts to attract aspiring engineers to careers in the water industry.

Students are asked to address the benefits of tap water in response to the following essay topic:

As the largest water utility in Maryland, and one of the largest in the country, WSSC is proud to produce and deliver safe, clean and reliable tap water to our 1.8 million customers daily. We are passionate about our water and even prouder of our superior track record in delivering this excellent product to our bi-county residents for the past 100 years. In 1,500 words or less, tell us why tap water is better than bottled water. Please be sure to address all relevant factors and scenarios in making your case.

Emerson Adds PLCs And Expands Control Capability for Hybrid and Discrete Users

Emerson is adding a new portfolio of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that will enable more comprehensive manufacturing control and production optimization. End users will be able to expand operations and supply chain control — the process manufacturing of goods all the way through to assembly and packaging — by partnering with a single automation provider.

With the addition of the new PLCs, part of Emerson’s acquisition of General Electric Co.’s Intelligent Platforms group, Emerson is bringing more end-to-end automation solutions to its existing process control market. The addition also expands its production optimization and control capabilities in the rapidly growing hybrid and discrete markets, and in industries where PLCs are sometimes preferred or required for faster response and machine control.

SWCC & Hyrec Sign MOU to Use Hyrec’s Concentration Technology at SWCC Plants

Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and Hyrec Technologies Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy Hyrec’s Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis (OARO) technology for Zero Liquid Discharge desalination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the 2019 Saudi Water Forum in Riyadh by Eng. Ali bin Abdulrahman al Hazmi, the Governor of SWCC, and Hyrec’s CEO Dr. Basel Abu Shark.

“This is an important milestone for Hyrec,” said Dr. Abu Sharkh. “Hyrec’s OARO overcomes the limitations of conventional RO. It concentrates brine up to its saturation point and economically extracts salts from sea water and other dilute solutions. Thus, more fresh water is recovered at little additional cost. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with SWCC.”