Photo source: Paul Hipwell
Biwater Holdings has announced that it has agreed the sale of its subsidiary Biwater Services to MWH Contractors. This follows on from the consolidation into one group, Ovivo, of Emico Water Technologies, Enviroquip and Christ Water Technology.
Given the tight margins and depressed volume of work further consolidation amongst suppliers looks inevitable. The real concern for the water industry is how to stimulate R & D. The water companies are looking to suppliers to innovate yet spending by suppliers on R & D is declining. It is only the French water conglomerates like Veolia who still spend significantly on research.
What innovation that is coming has mostly been developed in other industry sectors. The challenge for the water industry is to find a way to encourage more innovation, this must mean rewarding suppliers and creating an environment where risk taking is encouraged (no innovation is without risk). Neither is likely to happen.
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