Mr. Christopher Shea

GLG News by Mr. Christopher Shea, Franchise Owner

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Membrane Efficiencies Ensure 10% Growth of Muncipal Drinking Water Technologies

November 6, 2006

Analysis of:US Market for Drinking Water Technologies to Reach $2.1 Billion in 2011 | www.bccresearch.com

Improved membrane efficiencies and declining pricing will drive a projected 10% AAGR in municipal drinking water technologies.

Membrane filtration represents over 75% of all advanced municipal filtration technology and it will remain the significant technology to guarantee clean water. 

 

Pall Hits a largely Unappreciated Municipal Homerun

November 6, 2006

Analysis of:Big UF Drinking Water Plant Coming to MN | www.ch2m.com

The Minneapolis decision to use CH2M Hill and Pall in the US' largest membrane filtration plant elevates Pall into the highest echelon in the Municipal segment, where they have been working hard to penetrate. This represents a major achievement in a five-year long struggle. 

Layne Christensen Deserves Some Attention in Water

September 25, 2006

Analysis of:Layne Agrees to Buy Sewer Rehab Unit | biz.yahoo.com

Layne Christensen (LAYN) is not a company that receives a lot of publicity, but it is has recently taken some smart, significant steps in the water industry to make the company a serious player.

Most importantly Layne does not appear to be overpaying for their water deals, like some industry giants (GE).

The Separator is a Key Element in building a safer Lithium-Ion Battery

September 1, 2006

Analysis of:Dell, Sony Discussed Battery Problem 10 Months Ago | www.computerworld.com.au

The recent Lithium-Ion laptop battery recalls can be seen as a good thing for consumers and for the battery separator industry.

Safety is not a new idea for the battery separator industry and in fact many products already exist which can dramatically enhance safety with relative ease and not at great incremental cost. 

GE Water: Positioning itself to Surge Ahead

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:GE's Water Unit Remains Stagnant As It Struggles to Integrate Acquisitions | online.wsj.com

GE can improve its standing in the water business, but it must resist temptation for immediate gain and it must stay the coarse.

The confluence of superb water technologies, a guaranteed growth market, disciplined management, global reach and tremendous finance capabilities will ensure GE a leading position in the water business, provided it makes no rash moves.

Zinc Matrix Power: An Excellent Alkaline Alternative to Lithium Batteries

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:Ross Duebner, CEO of Zinc Matrix Power, has two words for you: Think Zinc | news.com.com

Lithium technology, despite its safety issues, will likely continue to dominate the portable battery market, but there is a great need to diversify beyond Lithium to hedge our bets.

The well known Silver-Zinc chemistry is one of the very few good high energy contenders, and Zinc Matrix Power's sealed technology offers promise.   

China Will Soon Address Its Water Shortage

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:China's Water Resources Become Stretched | online.wsj.com

China has loosened the monetary reigns on industries such as automotive and electronics in previous years and it will loosen the reigns on water treatment in the coming years.

The extent of the water shortage, the strategic nature of water and the impending Olympics will force the old guard to loosen the reigns sooner than they would like.

Don't Throw in the Towel as Basin Water Shores up its IP

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:Basin Water Granted Two Important Patents | home.businesswire.com

Basin Water's stock has decreased almost 50% since its inception earlier this year, but this should not be interpreted too severely as a reflection on its prospects.
 
The recent issuance of two comprehensive patents, one in the US and one in Europe, for Basin Water's unique regenerative ion exchange technology, build more value for the company.

GE, Pall and 3M benefit at Eagle Picher's Expense

August 11, 2006

Analysis of:Membranes for Food & Beverage Processing Worth $230 Million by 2011 | www.bccresearch.com

Membrane filtration sales in the food & beverage industry are expected to grow from $185 million this year to $232 million in 2001 or at a rate of 5% per year due to a shift away from chemical treatment toward membrane filtration. 

Membrane producers such as GE, Pall and 3M will lead this shift and benefit the most, while Diatomaceous Earth (DE) suppliers such as Eagle Picher will lose sales.  

How to Survive and Excel as an Industrial Equipment Manufacturer

August 10, 2006

Analysis of:ITW and Danaher: Industrial strength | money.cnn.com

The industrial equipment market can continue to grow provided the leading manufacturers constantly ask themselves whether they are standardizing where possible, sourcing from the lowest cost site, maintaining excellent sales distribution and technical service and continuing to invest in and commercialize the latest technologies.

No Decision: Manufacture Offshore or Perish

August 2, 2006

Analysis of:Emerging Giants | www.businessweek.com

There are very few choices for American (or any western civilization) equipment manufacturers when confronted with game-changing competition from China or India. You can either go build your own manufacturing site in China or India yourself, or you can buy an existing Chinese or Indian manufacturer. Either way you have to manufacture your equipment in Asia because the cost differential is simply too large to ignore or fight against.

The implications are that only some manufacturing jobs will remain in the US and that most manufacturing jobs will be lost. However, this is better than the alternative of closing down the entire business and laying off all the workers. An argument can be made that more sales people could be hired in the US with the ability to source lowered priced product from China.

Another key implication is that most of our equipment manufacturing ability will be shipped offshore and we will forever be dependent on other nations for essential equipment - in times of peace and in times of war.  

Siemens Proves That It Made The Best Water Acquistion - USFilter

August 2, 2006

Analysis of:USFilter Chapter Closes with Full Siemens Marriage | watertechonline.com

The completion of the integration of USFilter into Siemens Water Technologies is significant for a number of reasons:

1) Siemens is now the world's largest provider of products and services for the water, process water and wastewater industries with sales in 2005 of $1.9 billion;

2) Siemens has smartly retained and still leverages its real value, the USFilter management and personnel and the numerous highly regarded brand names such as Envirex, Memcor and Zimpro;

3) Siemens has actually succeeded to grow the USFilter business outside the US by 20% during its first two years despite having to integrate at the same time;

4) Siemens has amassed enough technology and clout in two years to compete head on with the other global water player, GE Water;

5) Siemens has demonstrated that it can listen and successfully leverage the respective strengths of an experienced US-based operating division and a German corporation; 

6) Siemens managed to purchase America's largest water equipment company with sales of $1.1 billion in 2004 for just under $1 billion, or at an unusually reasonable multiple of just below 1.0 X sales, whereas its competition has paid 3.0 x sales for comparable assets;  

GE's Water Synergy: Technology and Finance

July 28, 2006

Analysis of:Growing with New Water Unit, GE Energy Financial services Invests in Georgia Wastewater Reclamation Plant | home.businesswire.com

GE has just raised the ante in the water industry by offering plant financing when there is limited financing capability today through municipalities or the Federal Government.

GE can now combine its awesome array of in-house water technologies, such as ultrafiltration membrane filtration, with its seasoned financial service arms to offer the most competitive package to the customer.

Competitors such as Siemens US Filter or ITT Aquious will have to take note and reevaluate their own offering.

Water Conservation Now Pays Real Dividends

July 25, 2006

Analysis of:Cities Reward 'Lifestyle' That Conserves Water | www.usatoday.com

A corner has been turned, and it's very empowering. For the first time an altruistic idea, water conservation, actually pays real, quantifiable dividends to consumers ($75 - 3,000), municipalities and the private sector. The smarter consumers, municipalities and companies will pick this idea up and run with it.
 
By living smarter and buying smarter, consumers can see 3 and 4-digit annual rebates and credits.
 
By encouraging water conservation steps and purchases and water reuse programs, municipalities can delay and possibly eliminate costly water treatment expansions, saving tens and hundreds of billions of dollars.
 
By introducing products that require or consume less water, companies can motivate consumers to buy more efficient new products and thereby generate more incremental business for themselves.

This has vast implications for all companies in Lawn & Garden (hoses, nozzles, sprinklers, seed), Water Products (shower heads), Filtration Systems (Point of Use, Point of Entry, large reuse systems, desalination), White Goods (dishwashers, washing machines), Bath (toilets, faucets), Metering (gauges) and Controls Instrumentation (hardware, software).

Lithium Also Operates Well Outside Moderate Temperatures

July 21, 2006

Analysis of:Shifting Focus: Ford Moving Emphasis from Hybrids to Clean Diesel and Ethanol | www.autonews.com

Lithium Ion batteries can also perform well in HEV applications outside of moderate temperatures.

Ford Good News / Bad News

July 10, 2006

Analysis of:Shifting Focus: Ford Moving Emphasis from Hybrids to Clean Diesel and Ethanol | www.autonews.com

The good news is that Ford can admit that it doesn't have all the answers for hybrid electric vehicle technology and that it needs to refine and pursue a number of other technologies simultaneously.
 
The bad news is that Ford is demonstrating again that it doesn't have the vision and commitment and understanding necessary to succeed with hybrid technology and it appears almost certain that Ford will yet again yield more market share to the Japanese car companies in the hybrid segment because of this lack of foresight and commitment.

Dow Filmtec Buys Chinese Membrane Company

June 30, 2006

Analysis of:Dow Signs Agreement to Aquire Zhejiang Omex Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd., increasing its Water Components Portfolio | biz.yahoo.com

This potentially is a brilliant move by Dow Filmtec, a leader in Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes, to grow through acquiring Omex Environmental in China to gain: 1) local market access to one of the world's fastest growing filtration regions, 2) much needed complimentary Ultrafiltration (UF) and Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology, and 3) a new, low cost production facility.

Dow has been an industry leading RO membrane producer for decades, and they almost single handedly standardized an industry. This acquisition solidifies Dow's claim to be a "comprehensive component supplier for water purification", and it increases the chances of successfully moving toward standardization (and cost reduction) in the UF and MBR segments.

Potentially Much More Efficient Desal Nano-Membranes

May 23, 2006

Analysis of:Nanotube Membranes Open Possibilities for Cheaper Desalinization | www.nanotech-now.com

Lawrence Livermore has documented that nanotechnology will likely transform the membrane filtration industry and particularly the reverse osmosis desalination application. In a time when higher raw material and energy costs are really hurting the desalination industry and extending the paybacks on projects around the world, the introduction of nanotube membranes could dramatically improve the viability and economics on desalination projects. Membrane companies such as GE Osmonics, Nitto Denko Hydranautics and Koch Membrane Systems should be keenly interested in this development.

Basin Water Ion Exchange Could be a Solution

May 12, 2006

Analysis of:Well Filtration System Sought | www.montereyherald.com

San Jerardo, CA is a good example of the many small and medium-sized communities throughout the West, Southwest and Southeast in need of a cost-effective ion exchange filtration system to clean up the nitrate and trichloropropane contaminants. Too many times a well is closed because a cost-effective solution can't be found or a well stays open and operates outside of acceptable limits because the state hasn't established standards and doesn't force companies or municipalities to clean the well. Either way a practical, cost-effective solution is needed and Basin Water's remotely monitored system may offer a solution to San Jerado and other towns. 

Polypore Gets Its Battery Act Together

May 12, 2006

Analysis of:Polypore Announces First Quarter 2006 Results | biz.yahoo.com

This first quarter report appears to confirm a number of things, namely:
 
1) Any suspicions of a tepid market for either lead acid or lithium battery separators in the US or around the world appears to be unfounded, as sales volume is up significantly;

2) Polypore appears to have indeed been successful in passing through price increases for lead acid separators due to rising costs;

3) Despite very significant raw material (lead, polymers, oil, hexane) and energy price increases, Polypore has actually increased its margin percent from 34% to 37% with its successful price increases, production efficiencies and cost savings;

4) The multi-year cost of downsizing and realignment in European operations still continues to show itself in high redundancy costs;
  
5) While Lithium sales volume does appear to be on a healthy growth path again, Lithium separator pricing still seems to be headed downward as more capacity comes on stream.

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