H2O Innovation has announced that its specialty chemical business line is doubling the footprint at their Cheshire, UK facility to keep up with demand from the market. The grand opening ceremony for this new reverse osmosis (“RO”) cleaner production plant took place on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
The whole project is a $1.7 M investment to extend the Corporation’s specialty chemicals production facilities required in part due to significant growth in demand for Genesys-PWT powdered membrane cleaners. The UK facility doubled in size to 30,000 ft² with capacity to produce 1,000 tons/year of powder cleaners. The expansion created two more local chemical operator jobs and a role for an additional research and quality control chemist.
“The completion of this critical project in just 10 months is an amazing feat and something that all involved can be rightly proud of. Nick Davenport, Genesys Production Director, and Ray Wain of Lineflow, a powder specialist who acted as the consultant, started initial design work and getting proposals from local suppliers in June 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and international supply issues, equipment was delivered over the Christmas period and the plant was officially commissioned and opened by Cheshire Councillor Sam Corcoran on March 15th , 2022”, stated Steve Chesters, Managing Director of H2O Innovation Specialty Chemicals Group.
“This builds strategically on the momentum of combining the strengths of Genesys and PWT to execute on the promise of delivering the best products from the best location through our distribution network to customers around the world. We are expecting to see an acceleration in powdered cleaner sales due to their lower water footprint which reduces freight costs and associated CO2 emissions compared to equivalent liquid products. These powdered products are in line with our ESG initiatives, and we are seeing increased demand from many customers for products that reduce environmental impact”, added Frédéric Dugré, President and Chief Executive Officer of H2O Innovation.
