STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 1, 2011 -- Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), the global water technology company that this week spun off from ITT Corporation, and GE (NYSE: GE) have entered into an agreement for Xylem to become GE's distribution partner into the public utilities market for its advanced membrane filtration products.
Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Xylem will distribute GE's range of ZeeWeed* technologies in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The companies are expected to expand the relationship further in Europe and in countries in Asia and Latin America at a future date.
The collaboration will leverage Xylem's global sales network, which helps customers in more than 150 countries address critical water issues. For public utilities, the addition of GE's ZeeWeed membranes expands the water and wastewater treatment product portfolio available from Xylem, which currently includes products for water and wastewater transport, biological treatment, media filtration and disinfection. Xylem manufactures and sells water solutions products to the water and wastewater treatment market through its market-leading product brands including Flygt, Leopold, Sanitaire and Wedeco.
"The agreement with GE underscores our commitment to providing customers with a complete range of products and services for water treatment," said Mike Kuchenbrod, president of Xylem's Water Solutions business, based in Stockholm, Sweden. "We're confident that the combination of GE's well-recognized ZeeWeed brand membrane technology with Xylem's world-class sales organization will deliver a tremendous benefit to our public utilities customers and project partners."
Xylem invests heavily to maintain one of the industry's most extensive sales and service organizations to ensure it meets customers' needs locally. With this partnership, Xylem adds GE's ZeeWeed microfiltration, ultrafiltration and membrane bioreactor (MBR) products to its portfolio for customers in designated markets and geographies. Xylem's Water Solutions business is a global provider of water handling and treatment solutions for public utilities and industrial customers. The business employs a global sales network and manufacturing sites in Europe, Asia and the Americas, and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
"GE's more than 20 years of experience with ultrafiltration membrane technology, combined with its research, development and operational knowledge, make the advanced family of ZeeWeed products a natural choice for demanding water reuse and wastewater treatment applications. The distribution agreement with Xylem will strengthen and increase our reach across the globe," said Jeff Connelly, vice president, engineered systems -- water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.
ZeeWeed advanced ultrafiltration membranes are pressure-driven barriers to suspend solids, bacteria, viruses, endotoxins and other pathogens from water or wastewater, producing water with very high purity and low-silt density. They can treat surface water, ground water and biologically-treated municipal effluent. Nearly 1,000 plants worldwide use this technology to produce superior quality drinking water and to meet or exceed stringent wastewater treatment and water reuse standards.
Today's announcement reinforces GE's commitment to improve water reuse, a key commitment of ecomagination, a business strategy to create new value for customers, investors and society by solving energy, efficiency and water challenges. GE's ZeeWeed technology has achieved the distinction of ecomagination-qualification.
###
