International water resources management

1.2 billion good reasons

Water is a precious commodity in India, too. 1.2 billion people, just under a sixth of the world’s population, live on this subcontinent which lies between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean.

REMONDIS founds a subsidiary in India

REMONDIS Aqua (India) Private Ltd. has laid the foundation stone for further expansion on the Indian subcontinent. The company is a fully owned subsidiary of REMONDIS Aqua International GmbH and started operations in India in May 2009. The new company is based in Pune, an industrial city in the Indian state of Maharashtra with just under 4 million inhabitants, around 200 km east of Mumbai.

The dynamic growth of the Indian economy over the last few years cannot hide the fact that large parts of the infrastructure still date back to when it was a British colony. According to a study presented by the Deutsche Bank Research, international investors are being put off by the gaps in this infrastructure. India’s still comparatively small share in world trade can also be explained by the fact that the investment amount required to improve the traffic, telecommunications, energy and water infrastructures is estimated to be around 450 billion US dollars. Over the medium term, the volume of investment is to be increased from the present 5 % of the gross domestic product to 9 %, an increase that cannot be covered by state funds alone. As a result, the Indian government have been making changes to their laws over the last few years to make it easier for private investors to enter the Indian market. Public private partnerships, for example, have been permitted since 2005 for measures that improve the infrastructure. By doing so, the aim is for 40 % of all investments to come from private sector businesses. Experts believe that India’s gross domestic product could increase by 2 % per year if the barriers caused by the current infrastructure are removed.

In light of these huge growth prospects, REMONDIS has now seized its opportunity. It has succeeded in entering India’s rapidly expanding water market immediately by acquiring a local company that has been successfully building and operating water supply and wastewater treatment facilities for the Indian industrial sector for many years. As a result, REMONDIS Aqua India not only has around 120 employees but has also taken over 11 ongoing contracts to operate wastewater treatment plants in the Maharashtra region, nine of which are for well-known industrial customers such as Tatra, VW and Seco Tools as well as two municipal water supply and treatment contracts. The location, Pune, was not chosen by chance. Of the 28 Indian states, the ten with the strongest economies are grouped around the state of Maharashtra. The City of Mumbai as well as Pune itself both have industrial centres that are among the fastest growing in the country. Pune is one of the three most important centres for India’s automobile industry and an important location for German investment. VW, Daimler, MAN and many of their suppliers have set up branches in Pune. Furthermore, the town is an important centre for the IT branch, the agricultural industry and renewable energy.

Dr Lars Meierling and Dennis Pulimittathu have been appointed managing directors of REMONDIS’ Indian subsidiary. Mukund Dhadge has also joined the management team, a managing director with considerable experience of the Indian water market. The three managing directors enjoyed their first success straight after the foundation of the company when, among other projects, they signed a contract to operate a part of the wastewater pre-treatment facilities at VW’s new plant in Pune. There is a huge demand for safe wastewater treatment, integral resources, environmental protection and increased cost effectiveness among both commercial and municipal customers in India. Thus, REMONDIS Aqua planned and built wastewater treatment facilities for the production of automotive components for its customer, Kalyani Thermal Systems Ltd., at its Mundhava site in Pune and then took over the operation of the facilities. The wastewater treatment is based on a modern electrolytic concept.

REMONDIS Aqua is also already working for the Indian TATA Group. REMONDIS’ water specialists are responsible for planning, building and operating the wastewater treatment facilities for TATA FICOSA at its Hinjewadi site and TATA TC Springs in Mundhava. At TATA FICOSA’s plant, wastewater containing graphite from the production of automotive components and sanitary wastewater is treated in such a way that it can then be used to water the plant’s outdoor area. The wastewater is treated in batches using a chemical-physical treatment process followed by a biological treatment stage. The production wastewater from TATA TC Springs is also treated using a chemical-physical process; the sanitary wastewater there undergoes biological wastewater treatment using the activated sludge process. The treated water is then returned to the production process. Other well-known customers served by REMONDIS Aqua India include, among others, Seco Tools and India’s largest tyre manufacturer, Wheels India Ltd.

Dennis Pulimittathu underlined the significance of the new company for the further growth of REMONDIS Aqua in general: “By founding REMONDIS Aqua India, we have established a good basis for expanding further within one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. The dynamics of the Indian market mean there are some very promising prospects for future growth, especially in the area of industrial water supply and wastewater treatment. Above-average growth can be expected on the Indian water market in the future as the gap between the supply and demand for water becomes ever bigger. India is a booming market for industrial businesses. Indeed, expansion into the waste management market in the medium to long term is also conceivable.”

“The dynamics of the Indian market mean there are some very promising prospects for future growth, especially in the area of industrial water supply and wastewater treatment.“

Dennis Pulimittathu, managing director of REMONDIS Aqua India