A strategic alliance giving Australian desalination and water recycling company Osmoflo access to products produced by water and process giant GE was unveiled at the International Desalination Association World Congress in Perth, Australia, on 6 September 2011.
The agreement will enable Osmoflo to expand its product portfolio and allow GE to deepen its presence in the Australian water market.
A particular focus for Osmoflo will be on markets and applications where GE’s standard platform of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes and electrodeionization (EDI) skids provide a unique advantage in the <2,500 m³/d range. GE packaged systems are ideally suited for non-complex applications involving the desalination of brackish water or seawater using RO and EDI for high-purity water requirements. The agreement also will give Osmoflo access to the broad range of GE products such as cartridge filters, RO, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes and other technologies for water treatment systems. Osmoflo will utilize GE technology and customize water treatment solutions to address customer specific applications and will provide on-going maintenance and operations support through their 24 h national support service. In Australia, GE will continue to focus on build-own-operate, mobile water services and providing comprehensive solutions for tough-to-treat waters, including coal-seam gas and wastewater reuse with advanced technologies including membrane bioreactors and zero-liquid-discharge systems using evaporators and crystallizers. Irshaad Hakim, region sales leader – engineered systems at GE Power & Water, said, “The combination of our global expertise in water and process technologies coupled with Osmoflo’s local market presence presents a powerful proposition in the market. The agreement plays to both our strengths and also allows us to tap into new market opportunities, getting closer to customers and providing the right set of solutions in ways that best suit their individual needs.” Marc Fabig, managing director, Osmoflo added, “It means we and our customers gain from GE’s expertise in manufacturing and standardization, which provides a quality product in less time and less cost. Our manufacturing facilities will be freed up to concentrate on the larger, more complex projects.