AKW A+V Protec Industry, a specialist solutions provider in the wastewater treatment and biogas sectors, has witnessed a surge in demand for its services in the region.

Buoyed by the response to its products and the success of its maiden appearance at last year’s Big 5 show, the Germany-based company will be returning to this year’s event alongside its UAE-based joint venture Protec Technical Solutions.

According to general manager Hermann Gradl, during the event, the company established many contacts and was visited by several potential customers who expressed interest in its products and services in the UAE.

AKW A+V Protec Industry showcased its various activities within its indoor stand while at outdoor booth it presented its mobile toilet solution Sanico, which can be operated without a running water supply for flushing or without sewerage connections.

Commenting on The Big 5, he says: “The Big 5 allows us to show our products and services to a wide business audience. We want to show the services and products of AKW A+V Protec Industry and our local partner Protec Technical Solutions, which include engineering and establishment of turnkey waste water treatment and biogas plants. We also want to highlight all the advantages clients can enjoy in working with us,” Gradl says.

AKW A+V Protec Industry has three main business divisions:

• Wastewater treatment plants: The company provides intelligent solutions to process water (water recycling), providing enormous cost advantages compared to traditional wastewater purification systems. It offers sophisticated, turnkey solutions that are designed to meet individual requirements and needs while complying with legal restrictions and basic economic principles. Wastewater treatment plants installed by Protec Industry are operating successfully all over the world.

• Biogas plants: AKW A+V Protec Industry’s plants use organic waste material to produce electrical or thermal energy. “By operating an AKW A+V Protec Industry biogas plant, a lot of money incurred in waste disposal and energy costs can be saved, resulting is a high return on investment for the customer,” he says.

• Sanico: This clean and environment-friendly biological sanitary system, makes it possible to operate toilets at locations that have no access to running water for flushing and without a sewerage connection. In addition, the system can be used in many places where a portable system is required. Sanico can be employed at campgrounds, leisure facilities, event areas, golf courses, beach areas, industrial sites, car parks, building sites, mining, sand pits and gravel pits, and military property (military training grounds).

A+V Protec Industry set up Protec Technical Solutions in May 2013, following several inquiries and orders from companies in the UAE. Having started with two employees last year, Protec Technical Solutions now has seven – a number that is steadily increasing.

A+V Protec Industry has been in the Middle East for two years now, where it has successfully completed several projects. Among its landmark projects is the first biogas plant in Dubai.

Work is under way on the biogas plant, with an input capacity of 50 tonnes per day of material, for a dairy farm in Dubai. “This will be the first biogas plant in Dubai operating on organic waste material. The biogas produced at this plant will substitute about 360,000 litres of diesel per year resulting in high economic advantages,” says Stephan Waldhauser, project manager.

The plant is scheduled to be completed in mid-2015.

Last year, AKW A+V Protec Industry built a wastewater treatment plant for a Dubai-based customer in the food industry.

The company’s indoor stand at last year’s event.

Elaborating on the project, he says: “The production of pasta, cakes and sweets results in highly polluted wastewater containing residues of starch, sugar and fat. Due to the high COD (chemical oxygen demand) load of up to 40,000 mg per litre, the Dubai Municipality doesn’t allow the wastewater to be directly discharged into the sewage system. The existing wastewater treatment plant was designed for a daily stream of 60 cu m. To fulfil the regulatory limits (COD of less than 3,000 mg per litre), a new wastewater treatment plant was necessary.”

The new plant built by AKW A+V Protec Industry has an average input/output capacity of 150 cu m per day and a maximum of 200 cu m with a peak flow of 15 cu m per hour. It can take COD load input from 7,000 to 40,000 mg per litre and treat it to less than 1,800 mg per litre. The new treatment plant is built over 400 sq m and was completed in October 2013.

Meanwhile, in April this year, the company completed an industrial wastewater treatment plant project to treat 250 cu m of oily wastewater per day in Abu Dhabi. Another project for a laundry, which was due for completion last month (September) will be able to treat 360 cu m of waste water per day.

Other planned projects include an industrial waste water treatment plant of 160 cu m per day capacity for a wastewater disposal company in Dubai; extension of an existing water treatment plant for a client in the food industry in Dubai; and biogas plants for several industrial companies and dairy farms in the UAE.

AKW A+V Protec Industry intends to further expand its business in the Gulf area together with Protec Technical Solutions. As a specialist in the wastewater treatment and biogas sectors, the company offers customers turnkey services right from planning to plant installation. And now with an office in Dubai, it offers excellent service during and after installation of the plants, through the supply of spare parts, maintenance or staff training.

“One of the main targets of AKW A+V Protec Industry is to save our resources. That means that our team of biogas and waste water experts are constantly developing new processes for saving water and producing energy of out of waste or renewable resources,” Gradl says. “We are developing perfect individual solutions to save resources and produce energy out of waste which offer key environmental and economic advantages.”

Gradl points out that the company’s customers across the globe are highly satisfied with its products and services. “Last year, we commissioned some new wastewater treatment plants received a lot of new inquiries from potential customers all over the world.”

Established in 1991, AKW A+V Protec Industry is based in Hirschau, Germany, and is a private-owned company which employs 90 people including seven at Protec Technical Solutions in Dubai. It has a turnover of $1 million with the entire A+V Group registering a turnover of $20 million.

AKW A+V Protec Industry will be exhibiting at Zabeel Hall R114 at The Big 5 show.