In the dynamic and global filtration industry, news and information is breaking on a daily basis. International Filtration News is tracking stories relevant to our industry from air and gas filtration to liquid filtration and the various end-uses for filtration technology. Here we will post news stories relevant to filtration and its downstream applications on an ongoing basis. Please check back for regular updates. If you have news that you feel should be added to this summary report, please email it to Ken Norberg: ken@filtnews.com
Most recent update: February 24, 2023
Atlas Copco Celebrates 150 Years of Innovation
Atlas Copco, founded in Stockholm in 1873, celebrates its 150-year anniversary this week. During a century and a half, Atlas Copco has been driving development and delivering breakthrough innovations to customers in many different industries.
“We are extremely proud of our past, and we continue to shape the future through our technologies and service solutions,” said Mats Rahmström, CEO and President of the Atlas Copco Group. “Much has changed since 1873 when we were a small local start-up. But I think our founders would recognize our innovative spirit, the passion shown by our employees and our dedication to drive development together with our customers.”
Atlas Copco was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, and initially delivered equipment for construction of the Swedish railroad system. Since then, the Group has evolved and today supports customers in many different industries, enabling everything from food production to space travel.
Cummins’ Filtration Business Files for IPO
Cummins Inc. announced that its Filtration business, Atmus Filtration Technologies, has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for a proposed underwritten initial public offering (IPO) of newly issued common stock.
Atmus Filtration Technologies intends to apply to have its common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ATMU. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. The IPO is expected to commence after the completion of the SEC review process, subject to market and other conditions.
Steph Disher will continue to lead Atmus Filtration Technologies as CEO alongside an experienced and capable leadership team. Atmus Filtration Technologies, which was founded by Cummins in 1958, is one of the global leaders of filtration products for on-highway commercial vehicles and off-highway agriculture, construction, mining and power generation vehicles and equipment. The company’s name is derived from “atmosphere” and reflects its purpose of creating a better future by protecting what is important.
Donaldson Acquires Biotech Isolere Bio
Donaldson Company, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of innovative filtration products and solutions, announced the acquisition of Isolere Bio, Inc. (Isolere), an early-stage biotechnology company that develops novel and proprietary IsoTag™ reagents and accompanying filtration processes used for the purification and streamlined manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Aimed initially at the purification of viral vectors used for cell and gene therapies, IsoTag™ reagents are designed to substantially improve product quality and purity with faster timelines compared to competing solutions, enabling accelerated and more affordable delivery of life-changing therapies to patients globally.
“With the integral addition of Isolere to our Life Sciences portfolio, Donaldson is positioned to create premier separation and filtration solutions for emerging genetic-based drugs,” said Tod Carpenter, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Donaldson. “We look forward to accelerating Isolere’s growth trajectory through sales synergies from our recent acquisitions of Solaris Biotechnology and Purilogics and through the strength of our balance sheet.”
“Isolere is thrilled to join the Donaldson family and bring our novel affinity-phase separation technology to market,” said Kelli Luginbuhl, Ph.D, co-founder and chief executive officer of Isolere. “Our technology, complemented by Donaldson’s filtration excellence, is part of a larger vision to bring end-to-end solutions to the life sciences industry.”
Founded in 2017 by Kelli Luginbuhl, Ph.D, Professor Ashutosh Chilkoti, and Joe McMahon, Isolere is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Once commercialized, revenue from Isolere will be reported within the Donaldson Life Sciences segment.
DuPont Consolidates Ultrafiltration Technologies Under New IntegraTec™ Brand
To better serve municipal and industrial customers, DuPont is consolidating and rebranding its diverse portfolio of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for the sustainable purification, conservation, and reuse of water.
The DuPont™ IntegraTec™ portfolio of ultrafiltration technologies and products consolidates several legacy ultrafiltration brands – from Inge®, Memcor®, and DuPont Ultrafiltration – into a singular portfolio available to customers.
This new offering makes it easier for DuPont’s customers to harness the benefits of the Best-Fit ultrafiltration technology, either to be used alone or as a part of a multi-technology water treatment solution, toward the goals of high-filtration performance, high recovery, and energy savings.
With a global network of UF experts, DuPont’s team can help customers navigate the IntegraTec™ portfolio to tailor scalable, sustainable water and wastewater filtration solutions for industrial, municipal, and commercial applications.
Evoqua to Divest its Carbon Reactivation and Slurry Services to Desotec
Evoqua Water Technologies has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its carbon reactivation and slurry operations to Desotec, a European provider of industrial mobile filtration solutions based on activated carbon technology.
The agreement includes the product line’s workforce, reactivation facilities and associated equipment in Darlington, Pennsylvania, and Parker, Arizona, and the reactivation and carbon vessel manufacturing facility in Red Bluff, California, USA. The deal is expected to close during Evoqua’s third quarter of fiscal 2023, which ends 30 June 2023.
Desotec, which was acquired by private equity funds managed by Blackstone in 2021, is headquartered in Roeselare, Belgium and employs approximately 250 people across Europe.
Mativ Renames Filtration Unit, Gessner
Mativ’s newly formed Filtration business unit brings together filtration materials manufacturers Neenah Filtration and SWM under the new Gessner brand. Gessner stands for trust, integrity, creativity, and innovation in filtration.
As a core member of the Mativ family of brands, Gessner can now provide even more end-to-end filtration solutions. Gessner’s extended portfolio of filtration products now includes synthetic and glass filter media, nonwovens, nettings, tubes, films, and engineered specialty papers.
With 12 production sites located all around the world, Gessner can develop and locally produce a wide range of materials to suit a variety of highly demanding applications. With continuous product development in close cooperation with our partners, we deliver tailor-made solutions suited for a variety of challenging end-user needs.
Gessner’s diverse material and technology portfolio includes media for Transportation Filtration, Water Filtration, HVAC & Air Pollution Control, Industrial Processes, and Life Science.
Mativ was formed last summer through a merger of equals between SWM and Neenah, Inc. Combined, the two companies had about $3 billion in sales, supporting customers in more than 100 countries, and manufacturing capabilities on four continents.
Gessner will be at FILTECH in Cologne, Germany 14–16 February 2023 in Hall 7, Stand H3.
Metso Outotec Expands Filter Production in China
Metso Outotec will expand its filter assembly plant in Suzhou, China, to respond to global market demand. The plant expansion will not only double local capacity in China to deliver high-quality filters for mining and other industrial customers, it will also provide additional space for the assembly of flotation drive mechanisms and mill reline equipment.
The extended production facility is expected to open within a year and reach full capacity during H1 in 2024. With the expansion, the number of personnel working at the plant is anticipated to increase to around 60 experts.
“Filters are used in mining and industrial applications to separate solids from liquids. In Suzhou, we produce several of the different filter types we offer in our global portfolio. Originally, filter assembly in Suzhou began in 2009, and it has been operating at the same location ever since,” explains Tero Tiainen, Director, Filter Manufacturing at Metso Outotec.
“In connection with the expansion, we will also update our procedures for simplified processing, modular manufacturing and lean management to enable fast deliveries to our customers. This, combined with our established engineering, sourcing and production expertise in Suzhou will provide our customers with enhanced service and product quality,” says Chuncai Qiu, Suzhou Plant Manager.
Metso Outotec’s filtration portfolio consists of 15 different filter types and comprehensive services for hundreds of applications. Over 80% of the Metso Outotec filters are part of the company’s Planet Positive portfolio, mainly because of their efficiency in the recovery and reuse of water. The company has carried out more than 14,000 filtration tests and delivered more than 5,000 filters for various applications worldwide. Most of the filters are sold under the Larox® product name along with Metso Outotec corporate branding.
Canada’s Vytal Filtration Technologies is Expanding Into the US Market
Vytal Filtration Technologies announced the opening of a new office in Visalia, California. Through this expansion, Vytal will bring most of the filtration solutions offered to its Canadian customers to this very significant geographic market. The California office will focus on the energy, food and beverage, municipal water, agriculture, wine, and power generation industry segments.
CEO Brian Jones remarked, “We are proud to partner with Paul Deming and confirm his appointment as Vice President, Western United States, for Vytal. Paul brings several decades of process filtration experience to Vytal and will provide outstanding leadership to drive the future success of our business in this market.”
Cal Bunko, Founding Partner of Vytal will support Paul and Vytal with this important entrée into the United States market. Cal commented, “I am excited to bring Vytal expertise and innovative technologies to this market and to help customers achieve their goals. I am pleased to be supporting Paul as he brings his 30+ years of filtration experience to Vytal in the Western United States market.”
Paul Deming added, “I am very excited to be involved with Vytal and lead their growth plans for the Western United States market. I look forward to connecting with old customers and friends as well as making many new ones over the coming years as we build this business.”
Ahlstrom Launches a New High-Performance Filter Media range for HVAC
Ahlstrom has launched a new high-performance filter media range for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) from its brand-new production machine in Turin, Italy.
The HVAC filter media portfolio offers longer filter lifetime and lower environmental impact, protecting people and equipment in closed environments.
The product range covers options from ISO Coarse 85% to ISO ePM1 80% rating (ISO16890:2016) in a standard version and in a high permeability version for most challenging requirements. All products have limited flow restriction and extended dust holding capacity with excellent consistency.
This new range of products can be seen at upcoming Filtech exhibition in Cologne, Germany, from February 14-16, 2023.
