A new word enters the water technology lexicon on 12 March with a bold rebrand by Servelec Technologies and recent acquisition, leak detection specialist Primayer. The two companies are now united under one brand and one name – Ovarro.

Water is a core sector for Ovarro, which also works with clients in the oil & gas, broadcast and transportation markets.  The company helps organisations monitor, control and manage their assets and is anticipating considerable organic growth as utilities and municipalities seek greater analytics capability to drive multiple efficiencies in their operations.

Ovarro is inspired by the name of Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro who was first to propose the honeycomb conjecture. He stated that a regular hexagonal grid or honeycomb pattern is the best way to divide a surface into regions of equal area with the shortest total perimeter. Charles Darwin later commented that, “The honeycomb is a masterpiece of engineering. It is absolutely perfect in economising labour and wax.”

David Frost, chief executive of Ovarro said, “The water technology market is entering an extraordinarily vibrant phase, which we wanted to capture with the honeycomb theme of our re-brand. Exceptional efficiencies are sought by our customers and they will only be achieved through the collaborative efforts of a busy hive.

“We have some great technologies and unrivalled in-house expertise and in coming together and integrating our teams in R&D, operations and at the executive level, we can streamline our offer across industries and geographies. Having a single brand to wrap around this unique integrated offer is the most effective way of delivering to our customers.”

Looking ahead, Frost said, “Tightening regulatory drivers mean water utilities and municipalities around the world are expected to do more for less. There are also considerable strains on our natural resources and water losses through leakage are a massive issue. Our combined solutions tackle that head on.”

Ovarro’s re-brand includes a new logo and colour palette on the honeycomb theme, along with a new website www.ovarro.com. The company is headquartered in Sheffield, UK, and has offices in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

From Strategy to Operations, RPS has a long history supporting the UK water sector to meet its regulatory and strategic goals. Building asset resilience while hitting reduced leakage, pollution and flooding targets will be key to achieving the ambitious targets of the AMP7 cycle.

To ensure RPS grows our offering in line with our clients’ needs and market conditions, we’ve appointed Dr Conrad Ashby to lead our Water Operations business in the UK market. He will be accountable for setting the strategic direction of the business, while working closely with business partners and their teams to develop and implement cross-functional integration, growth and management of all aspects of our service offering.

Commenting on his new role, Conrad said: “I have a great passion for delivering operational excellence and continuous improvement, for both internal teams and client outcomes. RPS has a strong reputation within the UK water sector and I’m delighted to be working with an exceptional team of people to meet the challenges of the next AMP cycle and beyond.”

Conrad has over 20 years’ experience working for contracting and client organisations in the water utility sector – supporting the delivery of customer and asset capabilities in both clean and waste water arenas. His experience includes a variety of commercial and operational roles within Thames Water and Yorkshire Water, and Lanes Group where as Managing Director of their Utilities division he led their expansion and development.

Commenting on the appointment, CEO Paul Aitken said: “Conrad’s appointment is great news for RPS. His experience in the UK water sector and understanding of our clients is exceptional. He will be an enormous asset to both our water and surveying businesses, as we continue to develop and tailor our services to the water sector specifically while developing our growth strategy across the broader infrastructure sector.”

Servelec Technologies, a subsidiary of Laurel Solutions that provides remote telemetry units, secure SCADA systems and business optimisation software, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Primayer, a global leader in water network leak detection and location.

The transaction was completed by way of Servelec Technologies’ holding company, Laurel Solutions. The two businesses will be combined under the leadership of David Frost, MD of Servelec Technologies. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Hampshire-based Primayer develops and manufactures intelligent technologies for the effective monitoring of water networks and for reducing the loss of potable water. With over 20 years of experience and distributors in over 45 countries worldwide, Primayer is committed globally to supplying quality products for water utilities, consultants and contractors.

“The Servelec Technologies management team and Laurel Solutions are firmly committed to continued investment in Primayer’s people and solutions so that together we may grow and develop our combined range of complimentary products and software services for all our customers in markets around the world,” said David Frost, MD of Servelec Technologies.

Martin Carter, CEO of Laurel Solutions said “This investment in Primayer further builds out our leading portfolio in remote asset monitoring and control. We were excited to partner with Servelec Technologies’ highly talented management team, and this acquisition will bring innovative products that will enhance Servelec’s already outstanding offering.”

“It has always been important that Primayer strives to develop new products and services utilising the latest industrial technology in order to meet the changing and longer-term future needs of our customers,” said Roger Ironmonger, Primayer MD who is retiring but will stay associated with the business during the transition period as a special advisor. “The opportunity of a merger with Servelec Technologies was assessed as being an ideal fit for our complementary products, and an opportunity not to be missed for Primayer to become part of a larger solutions-based organization.”

“The combination puts Primayer in a stronger position to invest in technology for solving the world’s urgent water network supply and water loss reduction challenges and will enable us to better develop a strong, global market position,” Roger Ironmonger added. “We are excited for our valued staff to work with the talented Servelec team, who share our commitment to bringing to market innovative solutions which will drive substantial global growth.”

To find out more about Primayer, please visit their website here: www.primayer.com .

To find out more about Servelec Technologies visit their website here: www.servelectechnologies.com.

TALIS, one of the world’s leading providers of water flow control solutions, is acting to help prevent endemic waste in the water sector, stemming from what it believes is a failure to make the best buying decisions for non-standard applications.
In its report ‘Going Beyond the Catalogue’, TALIS highlights a 5-point plan to create more intelligent design, specification and procurement processes. It details the ways in which poor decisions are causing costs to rise, using the example of mechanical joints to help illustrate its case.
In particular, it cites a need for water companies, suppliers and manufacturers to work more closely to share expertise and capabilities. And for suppliers to show a willingness to be flexible, providing bespoke and innovative solutions which will offer tangible benefits.
Hervé Dumont, product strategy director at Talis, says: “Conversations that end at price and delivery dates are never going to be enough to meet the complex needs that can arise when dealing with water networks.
“There needs to always be the option to put the catalogue aside and talk about better, bespoke solutions where these can reduce costs or increase efficiencies.
“When the partnership between customer and supplier is working perfectly, standard needs should be business as usual, leaving time and focus for non-standard needs to be the areas where customers and suppliers can work closely to explore the ‘art of the possible’, working to co-design solutions that will save time, money and resources.
“This is something we encourage all our customers to do, working with the experts across our group to look at specially engineered solutions where required.”
Within its 5-point plan, TALIS encourages water companies to ask themselves some key questions when they have to look beyond the standard solutions.
Hervé Dumont comments: “One area in particular that water companies should focus on is to invest time in understanding key factors in the manufacture of components, to help customers improve their design and specification processes.
“For example, in the case of mechanical joints for challenging applications, fabricated joints made from steel components are often the only solution. These can be manufactured to operate at large diameters (up to DN 2800) and high pressures up to 100 / 150 bar).
“However, to achieve these standards and still work effectively, it is crucial that components are manufactured using best practice techniques such as cold expansion, flash butt welding and using vulcanized rubber gaskets.
“By developing an understanding of such techniques, water companies can make better-informed decisions that ultimately will save time, money and energy across the running of their networks.”
To access the full report, go here.
About TALIS:
TALIS protects water and thereby improves the living conditions of millions of people worldwide. TALIS strives to make the world a better place by being the best water flow control solutions company worldwide.
TALIS does this by being a leading global provider of premium water valves, hydrants and solutions/services for water flow control. TALIS is known to its customers around the world through its own leading brands such as BAYARD, BELGICAST, ERHARD and RAPHAEL.
The success of the international group headquartered in Germany with 21 entities and 14 production sites all over the world is based on the motivation, knowledge and capabilities of its 1300+ employees. In 2016 the Group realized worldwide net sales of 232 m€.
www.talis-group.com

Leading Water Quality Engineering company, Panton McLeod, has announced a UK partnership with international company, Join The Pipe, to provide free drinking water to the public with the aim of reducing plastic bottle waste and helping fund water and sanitation projects in developing nations.

Join The Pipe are the first social network of tap water drinkers with the dream of building the longest water pipe in the world, long enough so that everyone, everywhere has access to clean drinking water. Join the Pipe promotes tap water drinking and helps developing nations gain access to clean drinking water and sanitation. They also work hard to bring awareness to the environmental impact of the production and waste of bottled water. With the sale of tap water stations, refillable tap water bottles and donations, they finance water and sanitation projects in developing nations.

With global water bottle consumption approaching 500 billion bottles per year, the partnership aims to reduce plastic waste whilst helping the poorest communities in developing nations.

Panton McLeod will support the installation, maintenance and servicing contract in the UK and already have considerable interest from several UK water utility companies to be involved in the initiative.

For more information, watch our video.