Vicel Group, a Brazilian representative of global freshwater and wastewater treatment equipment suppliers and an engineering services company for oil platforms and ships, will meet with Aqua-Chem Inc. CEO David Gensterblum and his executive teammates, Phil Schrader and Jose Flores on March 6 in Brazil to formalize the creation of a Joint Venture, called Aqua-Chem do Brazil (a 50 percent ACI, 50 percent Vicel investment).
The partnership with the U.S. company for the formation of the JV Aqua-Chem do Brasil was planned to meet the market’s growing demand for products with national content, as established by the ANP (oil, gas and biofuel national agency) rules.
Management foresees the manufacture and assembly in Brazil of Aqua-Chem’s fresh water makers at a Vicel facility strategically located in the city of Rio das Ostras, an industrial district very close to Macaé area, the heart of the oil and gas Industry in the state of Rio de Janeiro. According to Mr. Eduardo Arruda, VICEL Group Technical Director and member of the board of directors, the new company will exceed 60 percent of local content in reverse osmosis desalination systems in the first phase of the production plan, scheduled for the third quarter of 2012.