better use must be made of water

10

FEATURE

Membrane Technology June 2006

Making better use our water resources throughreclamation and reuse is one of the most impor-tant tasks facing the world in the future.

In many Latin American countries, watershortages caused by population density, limitedwater reserves, and contamination caused byinadequate water and wastewater treatment,could put the future development of urban areasand industrial production at risk.

Speaking to the international press in MexicoCity, Chuck Gordon, Vice President of theWater Technologies division of the SiemensIndustrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S),says: ‘Water is the decisive factor for futuregrowth and economic expansion.’

‘Future investments must concentrate on pro-cessing wastewater from municipalities andindustry for reuse, as well as for conventionaluse,’ he continues.

Along with systems for supplying power andtransportation infrastructure, Gordon says thatSiemens also provides a broad range of productsand services for the water industry that will con-tribute to the future development of cities,regions and industry today.

‘Under one roof’Following the acquisition of the American-based company USFilter Corporation duringthe summer of 2004, the Siemens I&S Grouphas now brought its wide range of products,systems, services and automation equipmentfor the water industry ‘under one roof ’ in a sin-gle division, which is referred to as WaterTechnologies.

With the new organization, Siemens WaterTechnologies can better serve the heavily frag-mented market place in more parts of the world,says Gordon.

‘We must realize that in the future, munici-palities and industry will have to make greaterinvestments in water and wastewater technolo-gies,’ he continues [also see the feature in this

issue on Water shortage drives recycling and reusemarkets around the world, pp. 8–9].

‘However, progress has to remain affordablein the municipal sector and cost-effective inthe industrial sector, where the investmentmust pay for itself,’ he adds.

Access to clean waterAs things stand today, almost two billion peo-ple do not have access to clean water, andexperts anticipate that by 2025 demand forfresh water will be around 40% higher than in1995.

If as expected eight billion people populatethe world by 2025, the annual quantity ofprecipitation falling on the earth will nolonger be sufficient to meet humanity’s needs.

‘Two-thirds of the world’s population willthen no longer have access to natural waterresources,’ notes Gordon. He says that waste-water treatment and reclamation, along withsea-water desalination, will help in the futureto reduce supply shortages and better managethis increasingly scarce resource.

Latin AmericaSiemens intends helping to expand the infra-structure for water and wastewater treatmentin Latin America by providing products andsystems with local services.

Specifically, it says that it is offering estab-lished product lines such as Envirex municipaland industrial water and wastewater and reusesystems; Wallace & Tiernan chemical feed anddisinfection systems; Memcor membrane fil-tration for water purification and reuse; andZimpro water and wastewater treatment forthe oil & gas industry.

‘With these brands Siemens WaterTechnologies has excellent potential to achieveabove-average growth in Latin America,’ saysGordon.

Long historyApart from the breadth of the portfolio, Gordonsees the success factor for this business as beingbased on the company’s long history in SouthAmerica.

‘Today we are represented in each country inLatin America, and are therefore very close to ourcustomers,’ says Gordon. This enables Siemens tooffer what cities and industry in Latin Americaneed — reliable, cost-effective systems and servicesto ensure optimal water resource management.

Portfolio‘With sales volumes of �1.5 billion (US$1.9bn),Siemens is among the largest suppliers of water andwastewater treatment systems globally. It benefitsfrom its broad portfolio and its local presence inover 190 countries,’ explains Gordon.

Although he stresses that success is not onlydetermined by the range of Siemens Water Tech-nologies’ product portfolio, with more than 1100patents, but that also process-related expertise andapplication knowledge in the water industry isessential to provide reliable, cost-effective systems.With process knowledge, the proper application oftechnology and services can provide the bestapproach needed to satisfy the varying require-ments that differ from region to region, and fromindustry to industry.

InstallationsWith more than 200 000 installations in the waterand wastewater treatment business, Siemens says ithas the experience to meet the most stringent statu-tory requirements and tight industrial standards.

By acquiring USFilter, I&S expanded its portfo-lio to include a whole range of products and sys-tems. Gordon again: ‘We have started to supplymembrane, ultraviolet and bio-solids reductiontechnologies from the USFilter portfolio via ourglobal I&S sales network, taking account of coun-try-specific requirements.’

He adds: ‘Through our combination of expertisein systems control and automation, our productlines, and our expertise in providing systems forindustry and municipalities, we have the ability tohelp municipalities and industries better managetheir water resources.’

Contact:Siemens Water Technologies, 181 Thorn Hill Road,Warrendale, PA 15086, USA.Tel: +1 724 772 0044,www.industry.siemens.com

Better use must be made of waterAfter acquiring USFilter Corporation, the Siemens I&S Group amalgamatedits products, systems, services and automation equipment for the water indus-try into a single segment — Water Technologies — to help it serve the heavilyfragmented market place in various parts of the world. It says that better usemust be made of water: reclamation and water cycle management secure thedevelopment of cities and regions. Continuing this month’s theme of waterand water treatment, here we briefly look at the role the company is playing,particularly in Latin America.