Fluence Corporation expands wastewater treatment presence in China and Middle East
Fluence Corporation’s new MABR assembly facility in Panjin City will meet demand in northern and central China.
Wastewater treatment company Fluence Corporation (ASX: FLC) has secured a further two back-to-back contracts this week, with the latest deals including establishing a MABR assembly facility in China’s City of Panjin’s Xinglongtai District, and Liaoning Huahong New Energy Co Ltd committing to purchase Fluence’s Aspiral and SUBRE products.
The investment co-operation agreement makes Fluence the preferred supplier for wastewater treatment equipment to Liaoning, which will, in turn, deploy Fluence’s products to meet the growing wastewater treatment needs of Panjin City, Liaoning and other provinces.
Today’s deal follows Liaoning’s first commercial order for Fluence’s SUBRE product which will be used in the 3,000 cubic metre per day greenfield wastewater treatment plant under construction in Panjin City.
Manufacturing of Fluence’s proprietary MABR modules will continue exclusively at Fluence’s Changzhou factory in Jiangsu Province, but they will now be transported for final assembly at the new facility in Panjin City.
Fluence managing director and chief executive officer Henry Charrabe said the company was “very pleased” to gain further momentum in China by establishing a second assembly facility with a local government and strengthening the company’s relationship with repeat customer Panjin City and its partner Liaoning.
“This agreement provides us with even more confidence that our expansion strategy in China is gaining momentum and is supported by local governments and partners, thereby providing the potential for bulk wastewater system orders incorporating our proprietary MABR technology.”
Mr Charrabe pointed out the new assembly facility will serve as a “gateway” to satisfy demand in northern and central China.
Under the deal, Liaoning has made a minimum commitment to its Aspiral and SUBRE product orders with a capacity of 52,500 cubic metres per day through to the end of 2021, with minimum targets set for this year and next.
Middle East demand increases
Today’s news follows Fluence’s announcement yesterday it has received an emergency order for five of its NIROBOX units from a customer in the Middle East.
The units will be used for seawater desalination in the region to provide access to drinking water.
Fluence expects to ship the units within two weeks with revenue from the sale to be recognised in the December quarter.
“The ability to rapidly build, ship and install these units, which will provide 5,000 cubic metres per day of drinking water, was a key differentiating factor in Fluence’s value proposition to the customer, as competitive centralised solutions would require significantly longer lead time to deliver drinking water,” Mr Charrabe explained.