Singapore International Water Week to exceed expectations

• More than 5,000 visitors expected to attend first Water Expo featuring 350 participating companies from more than 20 countries

SINGAPORE, May 19, 2008 -- The Water Expo at next month's Singapore International Water Week, a global gathering for the water industry, is set to be even bigger than expected, with more than 5,000 trade visitors expected to throng the trade show at Suntec Convention Centre from 24-26 June 2008.

Organisers have expanded the net exhibition floor space from 3,000 sq m to the current 5,000 sq m to meet overwhelming interest from global water companies, keen to network with high-level officials from governments, utilities, companies and academia attending the Singapore International Water Week. The inaugural Singapore International Water Week also comprises the Water Leaders Summit, a high-level government meeting to discuss global issues and challenges, as well as the Water Convention, a conference on advanced technologies and practical delivery of water solutions in cities.

To date, 350 participating companies from more than 20 countries have taken up exhibition space at the Water Expo, which focuses on innovations, products, services, best practices and successful case studies. The companies represent the entire water industry value chain, including water/wastewater treatment, distribution, catchment management, equipment manufacture, and consultancy and engineering services. Among them are industry big-wigs such as General Electric, ITT Corporation, CH2M Hill, Black & Veatch, CDM, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (SEA), Suez Environnement, SembCorp Industries Ltd, Keppel Corporation, Salcon Pte Ltd, Dayen Environment, Asahi Kasei, United Engineers Ltd, Siemens Water, Dow Water Solutions and Hyflux.

Innovation Corner and H2O Business Stage
The Water Expo has several unique features: a New Product / Innovation Corner, devoted to products being launched for the first time in Asia or the world, and the H2O Business Stage, where companies can pitch for seed funds and investment. Unlike other water industry trade shows, the Water Expo will also feature testimonials and case-studies from international and local companies that have used the various water technology solutions.

Several new products and technologies will be launched at the Innovation Corner during the Water Expo, some of which are global launches. These include Nalco Pacific's RO TRASAR, which allows for continuous automated monitoring and control of product concentrations in water treatment systems; Koch Membrane System's MegaMagnum RO Element, a cost-effective reverse osmosis system designed for brackish water treatment or municipal water reuse and for nanofiltration systems; and Graham Singapore's GrahamTek RO Technology, which significantly improves flow hydraulics in membrane-based treatment systems.

The new launches in Asia at the Innovation Corner include Grundfos CRN 150, a vertical multistage centrifugal pump, by Grundfos (Singapore); BIOWISH ODOUR, a revolutionary microbial technology by Pan Asia Water Solutions Limited that uses bacteria and yeasts to tackle organic odour and waste products in water treatment; Sprayshield Green by Sprayroq Inc., a 'green' product that removes and replaces petroleum-based material in wastewater collection and treatment systems; and the 881 Compact IC pro by Metrohm Singapore, which is an 'intelligent' ion chromatograph.

Six country pavilions
In addition, there will be six country pavilions put up by companies from Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan, China, Israel and Germany, with the Singapore pavilion occupying the largest space, showcasing the country's successful water story in sustainable water policies and technology.

"The country pavilions are a great way to showcase the capabilities of the water industry of these countries and how each country offers solutions to the global water needs. It also presents excellent networking opportunities between different regions and the delegates and visitors to Water Expo" said Mr Michael Toh, General Manager of Singapore International Water Week.

"At the end of the day this is what Singapore International Water Week is all about -- a global platform for water solutions to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover business opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water industry."

The Singapore International Water Week will bring policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners together to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world.

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