Siemens: Better use must be made of water

• Reclamation and water cycle management secure the development of cities and regions, says Siemens Water Technologies executive in Mexico City following World Water Forum.

ESSEN, Germany, March 29, 2006 -- One of the most important tasks facing the world in the future is to better utilize our water resources through reclamation and reuse. "Water is the decisive factor for future growth and economic expansion," explained Chuck Gordon, vice president of the Water Technologies division of the Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S), to the international press in Mexico City.

In many Latin American countries, water shortages caused by population density, limited water reserves, and contamination caused by inadequate water and wastewater treatment, will put the future development of urban areas and industrial production at risk. "Future investments must be concentrated on processing wastewater from municipalities and industry for reuse, as well as for conventional use." Along with solutions for power supply and transport infrastructure, Gordon said that Siemens also provides a broad range of products and services for the water industry that will contribute to the future development of cities, regions and industry today.

Following the acquisition of the American company USFilter Corporation in the summer 2004, the Siemens I&S Group has now brought its wide range of products, systems, services and automation solutions for the water industry under one roof in a single division, "Water Technologies."

"With the new organization, Siemens Water Technologies can better serve the heavily fragmented marketplace in more parts of the world than ever before," explained Gordon. "We must realize that in the future, municipalities and industry will have to make greater investments in water and wastewater technologies," continued Gordon, "but progress has to remain affordable in the municipal sector and cost-effective, in the industrial sector, where the investment must pay for itself. Siemens' global presence helps to provide industry and municipal authorities with reliable and advanced technologies to provide solutions to water and wastewater issues all over the world."

With sales volumes of US$1.9 billion, Siemens is among the largest suppliers of water and wastewater treatment systems globally. Siemens benefits from its broad portfolio and its local presence in over 190 countries, explained Gordon. He stressed, though, that success is not only determined by the range of Siemens Water Technologies' portfolio with more than 1,100 patents, but that also process-related expertise and application knowledge in the water industry is essential to provide the reliable, cost-effective solutions. With process knowledge, the proper application of technology and services can provide the optimum solutions needed to satisfy the varying requirements that differ from region to region and from industry to industry.

With more than 200,000 installations in the water and wastewater treatment business, Siemens has the experience and expertise to meet the most stringent statutory requirements and the tightest industrial standards. By acquiring USFilter, I&S expanded its portfolio to include a whole range of products and systems. Gordon again: "We have started to supply innovative developments such as membrane, UV and biosolids reduction technologies from the USFilter portfolio via our global I&S sales network, taking account of country-specific requirements." Gordon added: "Through our combination of expertise in systems control and automation, our extensive products lines, and our expertise in providing solutions for industry and municipalities we have the ability to help muncipalities and industries better manage their water resources."

As things stand today, almost two billion people do not have access to clean water. Experts anticipate that by 2025 demand for fresh water will be around 40 per cent higher than in 1995. If as expected eight billion people populate the world by 2025, the annual quantity of precipitation falling on the earth will no longer be sufficient to meet humanity's needs. "Two thirds of the world's population," stated Gordon, "will then no longer have access to natural water resources." As he said: Wastewater treatment and reclamation, along with seawater desalination, will help in the future to reducesupply shortages and better manage this increasingly scarce resource.

Siemens intends to contribute to expansion of the infrastructure for water and wastewater treatment in Latin America by providing the best available products and systems with local services. Specifically, Siemens is offering established product lines such as Envirex (municipal/industrial water and wastewater and reuse systems), Wallace&Tiernan (chemical feed and disinfection systems), Memcor (membrane filtration for water purification and reuse), and Zimpro (water and wastewater treatment for the oil and gas industry). "With these brands" said Gordon, "Siemens Water Technologies has excellent potential to achieve above-average growth in Latin America."

Apart from the breadth of the portfolio, Gordon sees the success factor for this business as being based on Siemens' long history in South America. "Today we are represented at each country in Latin America, and are therefore very close to our customers," said Gordon. This enables Siemens to offer what cities and industry in Latin America need: reliable, cost-effective systems and services to ensure the optimal solution for water resource management.

Siemens Water Technologies including the USFilter Group of Companies delivers cost-effective, reliable water and wastewater treatment systems and services to municipal, industrial, commercial and institutional customers worldwide. The division "Water Technologies" is part of Siemens' Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) which is a system and solution provider for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. In fiscal 2005 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 31,700 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 5.390 billion. For more information, see: www.usfilter.com or www.siemens.com/water

Also see:
-- "Mariani Packing chooses wastewater treatment system from Siemens Water Technologies"
-- "Water Assessments: In Search of Hidden Dividends -- Chemical Engineering & Water Treatment"

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