Resources - Water plays a huge role in industry, agriculture and human life. Around the globe, we continue to see demand outstripping supply. Particularly for industry, water challenges and regulatory pressures are on the rise. CHEManager Europe discussed the impact of water shortages in industry with David Jellison, Regional Executive Europe, GE Water & Process Technologies.

CHEManager Europe: The mission of your company is to be the world's best supplier of chemical and equipment treatment technologies for water and process systems. How are you going to achieve this goal?

D. Jellison: Around the globe, we continue to see water demand outstripping supply. Particularly for industry, water is the limiting factor for businesses to grow and expand. This is where our business can provide the expertise and technology to help our customers treat water, optimize processes, increase productivity and protect their assets.
To solve the most pressing water challenges related to optimization, efficiency, asset protection and total cost reduction around water treatment processes, we continually invest in the development of new technologies to meet industry challenges, particularly around regulatory compliance. Moreover, we push the limits of technology with future products that are designed to reduce the total cost of wastewater treatment. Our technology planning process allows us to develop new chemical programs to further inhibit deposition, corrosion and microbiological fouling while reducing the environmental impact.
Investing in our people and hiring the best talent in the water and process fields is another key aspect of our strategy. GE Water has a dedicated team of people focused on chemicals and process technologies to serve heavy industry. Our experienced team of some 7,000 worldwide are working everyday to solve these industry challenges for today and well into the future.

What technologies do you offer?

D. Jellison: We offer a complete portfolio of solutions to customers in the region, including advanced cooling chemistry, process chemistry, membrane chemicals, and monitoring equipment. GE continues to invest in advanced technologies in water and process chemicals as well as monitoring equipment to better meet customer demands. Our new advanced cooling solutions can help customers monitor, control and maintain their cooling systems with greater efficiency, reliability and predictability. These

new offerings combine monitoring and control capabilities of Truesense with the patented chemistry of Gengard, as well as wireless data monitoring. Some of the benefits of this new total cooling solution are a lower total cost of ownership, simple installation, better safety net and improved environmental stewardship.

How do you distinguish yourself from competitors?

D. Jellison: GE continues to bring technology, expertise and best practices to the market, working very closely with local business collaborators and our customers. We offer a complete portfolio of solutions to customers in the region, including advanced cooling chemistry, process chemistry, membrane chemicals, monitoring solutions as well as equipment. GE Water is building a service business model around its chemical offerings, driving value delivery for our customers. Our team of experts is positioned to assess unique customer challenges and provide solutions to solve their water treatment needs.

In 2008 GE invested $1.4 billion in the R&D of cleaner technologies. What are your current investment plans? Do you focus on certain areas or regions?

D. Jellison: We see great opportunity for our business and our industry. For this reason GE continues to invest in the water business. In June, GE Water and the National University of Singapore (NUS) inaugurated the NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre on the campus of NUS. The $100 million centre will house GE scientists and engineers who will develop new solutions for low-energy seawater desalination, water reclamation and more efficient water reuse. This will help expedite fundamental research and industry innovation in water treatment, while also strengthening collaboration with government and industry in Singapore and abroad. The NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre is the most recent addition in GE's worldwide technology development efforts. It joins a network of GE's technology centers located throughout the world, including the China Technology Center in Shanghai. In June, GE Water also opened the Saudi Water & Process Technology Centre. The near $10 million facility located in Dammam, Saudi Arabia incorporates a blending plant for water treatment chemicals and offers advanced water, water reuse, wastewater and process solutions to local and regional customers. It is the second GE Water facility in the Gulf, following a recently opened manufacturing facility and office complex in Dubai, UAE. The new center is a joint venture between GE and Al Tamimi Group, a leading Saudi Arabian engineering and construction firm with which GE has had a relationship since 1957.
We are particularly focused on helping our customers in water-scarce regions where demand exceeds supply and it is essential to address this challenge with water reuse and water treatment challenges. These regions include Europe, Middle East, Africa, China, Australia-New Zealand and the United States, among others.

It is cheaper for manufacturers to extract water from watercourses or to take it from the public system than using effective technologies for water reclamation. How can the use of effective technologies be supported and increased?

D. Jellison: Water scarcity and water quality are two global challenges that affect industry around the world, including many European countries. Reuse and reclamation, as well as water system optimization will continue to be a top priority for industry players and governments. With increasing regulatory and environmental pressures, industry is under extreme pressure to improve their water usage and reuse capabilities to lower the stress on fresh water sources.The best approach for any given water reuse opportunity is governed by the specific challenges of that application. We use our expertise and portfolio of equipment and chemical solutions to meet our customer's needs.