Hydro International's Andoh to deliver keynote address at WWEMA conference
• Company's director of innovation to speak about need for paradigm shifts in water, wastewater industries
PORTLAND, ME, Oct. 24, 2007 -- Hydro International, a leading provider of environmentally sustainable products and innovative solutions that control and treat stormwater, wastewater and combined sewer overflows, today announced that Hydro Director of Innovation Robert Y.G. Andoh will deliver the keynote at the annual conference of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) on Nov. 9 at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Dr. Andoh will deliver a talk entitled "Innovations in the Water and Wastewater Industry: Mega Shifts, Trends and the Need for Paradigm Shifts." He will discuss challenges to achieving sustainable development in an increasingly urbanizing world.
"Conventional approaches and solutions may no longer be relevant: Paradigm shifts are required to meet the demands of the 21st Century and beyond," Andoh said. "Without innovation and changes in current paradigms, some of the looming local and global-scale challenges appear insurmountable."
WWEMA is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1908 to represent the interests of companies that manufacture products sold to the potable water and wastewater treatment industries. The Nov. 8-10 conference is the group's 99th annual meeting.
Andoh has more than 25 years of experience in the water industry. He has authored and presented a significant volume of technical papers relating to urban flooding, collection systems and wastewater treatment processes. He has contributed extensively, on both a national and international basis, at communication events in the field of urban water management. He has lectured at a number of post-graduate institutions, and currently serves as a visiting professor of Liverpool's John Moores University and as a member of the Technical Advisory Board for the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center.
Andoh also has played active roles in a wide variety of corporate and civic initiatives such as involvement on policy issues through chairing the Skills and Innovation Task Force of the UK Water Sector Advisory Group, conducting innovative industry research into the use of computational fluid dynamics; and participating in a decade-long management turnaround at Hydro that has resulted in a six-fold revenue increase and a return to steady profitability. He is the inaugural winner of the "Outstanding Individual" category of the IWEX Awards in recognition of his contributions to the water industry.
Hydro International, based in Portland, Maine, is a leading provider of environmentally sustainable products and innovative solutions that control and treat stormwater, wastewater and combined sewer overflows, utilizing award-winning advanced vortex and complementary technologies.
The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association has safeguarded and promoted the interests of its members since 1908. Headquartered in the nation's capital, WWEMA works closely with Congress and other regulatory agencies, providing leadership on issues affecting the future of companies, large, medium and small, throughout the water and wastewater industry.
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