According to Terry Mah, vice president and general manager of USFilter's Kruger Products, the Hydrotech acquisition will enable USFilter to complement its filtration capabilities while providing customers with more solutions to water and wastewater treatment filtration applications. Mah explained that USFilter had previously established a license agreement with Hydrotech, and was so impressed with the operating efficiencies of the filters that it decided to acquire the company.

"The acquisition gives us an even wider range of water and wastewater filtration technologies for municipal and industrial applications," says Mah. "Hydrotech filters are popular for water reuse, and we hope to add it to our growing list of Title 22-compliant technologies." All equipment used in the state of California for the tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater must be Title 22-compliant. Although the law is only applicable in California, engineers in other states often use it as a determiner in recommending equipment.

The acquisition extends USFilter's strategy of adding technologies and services in the firm's core water and wastewater treatment businesses, according to USFilter president and CEO Andy Seidel. "With this transaction, we have completed more than $100 million in acquisitions since the first of the year," he said.

The Hydrotech filter technology is used in industrial applications from pulp and paper intake water to food processing plants, as well as in municipal drinking water and wastewater filtration applications. Hydrotech's headquarters and manufacturing offices will remain in Vellinge, Sweden. Specific financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.