Cascal chairman looks to desalination future

Cascal NV, a subsidiary of the UK-based Biwater water and wastewater group, is looking to extend its market reach further into desalination, according to its recently elected chairman, Adrian White.

In a statement issued on 18 August 2009, White said, “I am confident in the company’s ability to scale its operations in response to the world’s continuing demand for traditional and alternative water solutions. We are extraordinarily well-positioned to take advantage of existing relationships to rapidly broaden our core capabilities and build additional global momentum”.

The company was considering the establishment of offices in the United States to further explore opportunities in Cascal’s core business in the US and in the Caribbean, White said. This would be done in conjunction with Biwater’s existing US offices to minimize expenses and capitalize on their relationship, whereby Biwater would undertake construction risk while Cascal would undertake ownership via equity investment and assumption of long-term operating and maintenance contracts.

It was this type of relationship that was being considered for extension into the desalination market, White continued, where Biwater AEWT of Monrovia, California, had the largest installed membrane capacity in the US and maintained strong relationships with key consulting engineers worldwide.