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.
Gresham Smith Selected to Design Georgia Water Innovation Hub
Gresham Smith announced its firm was selected to design the Water Tower Global Innovation Hub in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Named after the county’s iconic water towers, the innovation campus will bring together utilities, technology providers, educational institutions and other industry partners to create a thriving ecosystem of water innovation.
The initial phase of the project includes: a 55,000-square-foot, three-story building with office and collaboration spaces; classroom and meeting spaces and a large multi-purpose space; as well as multiple laboratories for studies, experiments and tests. Gresham Smith will also design a conveyance network to bring various process streams from F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center (WRC) to support bench-scale, full-scale and pilot studies, reported the press release.
“We are so excited to partner with Gresham Smith on the design of the Water Tower Innovation Center,” said Melissa Meeker, CEO of The Water Tower. “Their team has both a strong architectural expertise and a clear understanding of the water industry, making them uniquely qualified to guide us to a solid design, while helping control costs and expedite the schedule.”
Grundfos’ Cloud-based Service App Reduces Downtime for Thailand
Grundfos announced the launch of its new cloud-based service app, SmArt Serv in Thailand to reduce downtime for key infrastructure in the country.
The growth of consumer-centric apps reflects the country’s ambition for ‘Thailand 4.0,’ incorporating digitalization in key processes. 61% of the Thai economy is projected to be digitised by 2022, reported the press release.
“With water playing such a crucial role in many aspects of Thailand’s public and private sectors, any downtime on critical infrastructure not only has a negative impact on business continuity and revenue, it also has far-reaching consequences when it comes to disruption in water supply,” said Nicolai Thrane, regional service director of Grundfos Asia Pacific Region. “In line with Thailand’s new growth direction to become a high-income economy through technology and innovation, the SmArt Serv app is one of Grundfos’ many efforts to incorporate digitalisation with our service, ensuring a fast response rate and minimise any downtime for our customers as much as possible.”
Seeq Expands Series B Funding with $24 Million
Seeq Corporation announced that it has secured a $24 million expansion of its Series B funding. The expansion round is led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV). The funding will accelerate Seeq’s expansion of development, sales, and marketing resources, and also increase its presence in international markets, according to the press release.
“Seeq is providing an important improvement in software for customers in process industries to accelerate insights, action, and impact on their production and business outcomes,” said James Sledzik, venture executive at SAEV. “We are pleased to be leading the effort enabling Seeq’s continued growth.”
Ceres Imaging Wins 2020 Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ceres Imaging won the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Water Category, becoming the 10th U.S.-based winner of the award, at its 12th annual awards ceremony. The ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Ceres Imaging received the award in the Water Category for its proprietary spectral imaging sensors and A.I.-based analytics to optimize water use in agriculture. According to the press release, Ceres Imaging’s data-driven technologies have enabled more efficient irrigation practices and provision of water, serving approximately 1 million acres of land in the U.S. and Australia.
“The importance of organisations in driving forward positive changes and implementing innovative sustainability practices and solutions will be vital to the world’s social and economic development, in the years and decades to come,” said Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
Oldcastle Infrastructure Announces Storm Drainage Project in Tampa, Florida
Oldcastle Infrastructure announced the construction kick off of its storm drainage project in downtown Tampa, Florida. The storm drainage project is expected to span over two years.
“The goal of this project remains consistent with all of the work that we do: to provide the infrastructure that keeps communities connected and protected,” said Bob Simone, precast sales executive of West/Central, Florida for Oldcastle Infrastructure. “We’re looking forward to seeing how these structures better serve the residents of Tampa in the long term.”
A new 36-inch water transmission main will be constructed in order to better direct the underground transportation of water, reported the press release. Residents can anticipate reduced flooding in both residential and commercial areas of W. Cass Street, N. Rome Avenue, W. Gray Street as well as surrounding areas.
Networking Section:
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BioSafe Systems has hired Swaraj Lavande as the new Controls Engineer.
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Cerahelix, Inc. has announced William Paulus as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
