Fairmount Launches Water Solutions Subsidiary
Fairmount Minerals Ltd. is launching a new subsidiary focused on improving the performance of engineered media in filtration services for surface water, groundwater, and municipal and industrial wastewater.
The company has served the water treatment industry for decades through its subsidiaries, Best Sand Corporation and Wedron Silica Company, suppliers of sand and gravel filtration media for municipal and industrial water filtration. The new Ohio-based company, Fairmount Water Solutions, will combine the expertise and technology developed through these ventures with technology licensed from Kinetico Incorporated, a manufacturer of water treatment systems, also based in Ohio.
“Fairmount Minerals has 14 companywide sustainability teams focused on ways our company can contribute to the most pressing issues of our time,” explained Chuck Fowler, Fairmount Minerals president and chief executive officer. “One of those, the Clean Water team, has taught us to appreciate the growing importance of potable water. From that research and our work with filtration sand and gravel we’ve identified a need for increased media performance and better technology support in the municipal and industrial water filtration markets.”
With its strategic focus to expand the company’s presence in the water filtration industry, Fairmount Water Solutions is introducing Macrolite® Engineered Ceramic Media, an ultra-performance material with remarkable surface area and particle consistency that dramatically enhances filtering efficiency, according to the company press release.
Developed for filtration applications that demand high flow rates and increased effluent quality, the media spheres optimize filtration performance relatively uniform physical properties that allow flow rates up to 10 gpm/ft² and an expanded surface area that promotes colloidal attachment. These effects can allow a bed of media to filter down to the 3 micron level, compared to 10 microns for a conventional aggregate bed.
“The addition of Macrolite media to its proven portfolio of sand and gravel filtration media will position Fairmount Water Solutions as a key industry player in industrial and municipal waste water filtration,” said Dave Chew, director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmount Water Solutions. “We’re looking forward to helping system managers increase facility performance and lower plant operating costs through more efficient filtration media technologies.”
Chew is a veteran Kinetico executive hired by Fairmount as part of the license agreement.