NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    MAY 2016

Large Individual Projects and Multiple Small Projects by Large Treatment Plants make Sales easier for Suppliers to North American Municipal Wastewater Plants

Ten percent of North America’s 20,000 wastewater plants buy the majority of the flow control and treatment equipment purchased by wastewater treatment plants in North America.  Their large expansions and upgrades account for a majority of capital expenditures.  This allows the supplier to identify his prospects months or years in advance of the actual sale.  If the supplier is relying on quality rather than price to sell his product, then the opportunity to shape the final decision well in advance is critical.

An example of a large project is The Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant in Vancouver.  It has been told by the federal government it must upgrade to secondary treatment by December 31, 2020. The plant is one of two remaining primary treatment plants in the region. New federal regulations require all primary treatment plants be upgraded to secondary treatment.  The cost will exceed $2 billion.  So this is a project which will involve contacts with the city and A/E over the next two years in order to maximize order potential.

Some smaller projects are predictable long in advance due to new regulations or outdated technology. Plants with lagoons for sludge dewatering are likely to be considering changes. The City of Alliance, Ohio plans to builda dewatering system. Its lagoons are full. Over the20 year life of a new plant there is economic justification for this investment. It is good to be alerted to specific projects but, if you are selling dewatering equipment, you should be calling on every plant with lagoons and every plant with 20 year old dewatering equipment.

One way to make sure that you thoroughly pursue the large opportunities is to single out the largest prospects in each state. Here is a sample for Colorado:

You can determine the market share for these plants as follows:

In 2017, Colorado’s secondary municipal wastewater capacity will be 1.77 percent of the total 40,000 mgd for the U.S.  The top four plants have a total of over 100 mgd capacity which is 14.7 percent of the 680 mgd for the entire state.

For more information on a system to identify all plants and projects, click on: 62EI North American Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities and People Database

For more information on the program to reach these prospects, click on: Detailed Forecasting of Markets, Prospects and Projects