Water Company of the Year
Evoqua Water Technologies
What is it?
The NYSE-listed water equipment and service company formed out of the ashes of USFilter.
What has it done?
Under the guidance of CEO Ron Keating, Evoqua has transformed itself from an unwanted thorn in the side of its former owner into an undisputed leader in the field of water treatment. A shrewd roll-up of water technology companies was followed by a highly successful initial public offering in summer 2017.
What makes it special?
When AEA Investors relieved Siemens of the remains of USFilter in 2014, the industry was in accord that it had overpaid – and then some. 2017 was the year that Evoqua proved just how wrong everyone had been, floating on the New York Stock Exchange at a valuation of $3.2 billion, and never looking back.
By simplifying the company’s internal structure and re-energising its workforce to engage more closely than ever with municipal and industrial end customers, Evoqua has built a fearsome reputation in the water industry as the king of systems supply, product sales, and service. It enjoys top-tier market positions in a range of industry segments, from electrochlorination right through to biological nutrient removal.
Evoqua embarked on an ambitious $400 million acquisitions programme which culminated in 2017, improving its earnings profile and strengthening its flowsheet by allowing it to enter new adjacencies. With a revitalised culture and a balance sheet to match, the company is delivering on its promise to deliver worry-free water to its customers globally.
Distinction
Aqualia
What is it?
The €1 billion-a-year international water arm of Spanish construction giant FCC, with expertise in constructing, financing and operating water and wastewater infrastructure. The company serves 22.5 million people worldwide.
What has it done?
Aqualia had a stellar year in 2017, notching up contract wins in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Spain. Its place at the top table of international private water companies is complemented by its digital expertise, and its commitment to the circular economy through the All-gas biofuels programme.
What makes it special?
The devaluation of the Egyptian pound in 2016 hit the profitability of Aqualia’s New Cairo wastewater project hard. Lesser companies would have walked away, but Aqualia redoubled its commitment to the country by winning an even bigger project in 2017 at Abu Rawash. Elsewhere, the company’s international business development machine was firing on all cylinders, negotiating key contract wins in Panama, Mexico, Romania, Oman and the UAE.
Strong earnings have cemented Aqualia’s reputation as the cash cow of the FCC group, ultimately enabling it to raise €1.35 billion via a debut international bond issue in 2017. The buyout of Czech water company SmVaK followed, reinforcing its long-standing presence in Eastern Europe.
Aqualia’s commitment to decarbonisation saw it inaugurate the world’s largest facility for the generation of biofuels from microalgae last year. The “All-gas” programme produces four times more energy per hectare than conventional biofuels, with the algae deriving its nutrients from domestic wastewater. It is part of Aqualia’s cutting-edge innovation agenda, which pushes the envelope on everything from data analytics to anaerobic MBR and low-energy desalination.
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