• Marking World Environment Day, both companies to expand roles in meeting country's growing water needs
HYDERABAD, India, June 5, 2010 -- New agreements between GE and Ramky Enviro Engineers, India's leading environment and waste management organization, can be a key step toward helping the country alleviate its growing water crisis. According to the World Bank, water scarcity is a real threat that could hamper the country's future.
GE and Ramky have signed emergency water and industrial wastewater treatment agreements specifically designed to address India's industrial wastewater treatment and recycling needs. Such water reuse initiatives can play a major role in helping improve overall water supplies in critical areas such as India.
Under the agreement, GE's industry-leading ultra filtration (UF) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology will be utilized by Ramky for wastewater treatment and recycling in India's industrial sector. It is estimated that the need for advanced wastewater treatment in this sector will increase by approximately 18 percent each year.* This demand is driven by new regulations combined with greater efforts from the industry to meet environmental responsibilities. Shortage for process water in most parts of the country also is driving the need for recycling of wastewater.
Ramky and GE also will bring the innovative concept of mobile water treatment plants to the Indian water sector. Set up in containers and mounted on trucks, these plants can be moved quickly to destinations having emergency water requirements. The mobile plants also can help meet water requirements during periods of project implementation and construction as well as during the summer season when water shortage is endemic in India.
"We are committed to meeting the needs of the Indian wastewater sector. This agreement with GE, a world-class technology provider, combines our strengths and capabilities in EPC and wastewater management with GE's latest technological solutions. This will enable us to provide our customers with reliable, state-of-the-art and cost-effective water reuse systems. With the country and the industry facing major challenges in the availability of water, this announcement by Ramky Enviro on the eve of the World Environment Day reflects its commitment and contribution to the national environmental cause," said Mr. Raman Nanda, managing director and CEO of Ramky Enviro.
GE and Ramky have started working with industry segments such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, automotive, non-ferrous metals and tanneries. They are implementing projects in effluent treatment based on MBR and UF technologies at several sites including Pharma CETP, Pattancheru (Hyderabad), NTC, and Volkswagen India Ltd., Pune. "The agreement emphasizes pilot studies prior to the implementation of projects, which leads to developing the right solutions the first time," noted Mr. Nanda.
"We are excited about the new relationship between two strong companies that bring complementary technologies, operational experience, solid industry reputations and best-in-class service to customers in India," said Yuvbir Singh, general manager, ultrafiltration and membrane bioreactor product lines -- water and process technologies for GE Power and Water. "We are confident that our proven products, application expertise and technologies are an excellent fit for industrial effluent treatment and reuse requirements of Indian industry."
The new agreement with Ramky further expands GE's water sector presence in India, where GE has set up its water application and design engineering team at Bangalore. This GE India engineering team will support training for Ramky's application engineering and service teams as well as customers' operational teams. GE's manufacturing facilities at Hoskote near Bangalore are in the process of integrating the local production of many of the required products, which also will reduce the need for imports.
World Environment Day (WED) 2010 is aimed to be the biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action. Commemorated on June 5 since 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. The agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues, empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development, promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
* Global Water Intelligence: India Market ReportAbout GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world's toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health care solutions, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use of natural resources. With nearly 85,000 global employees and 2009 revenues of $37 billion, GE Energy www.ge.com/energy is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy -- GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas -- work together to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.
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