By Carlie Connolly/PNR staff
EMCS Industries Ltd. of Sidney is introducing a new product titled the OTTER (Oxygen, Transfer Tank for Environmental Remediation) barge, which the new president and CEO of the company, Trevor Tasker, says will be ‘revolutionary’.
“It replaces normal mechanical surface aerators with a completely new technology that uses 80 per cent less energy and there are various other things like you don’t have to enter the lagoon to do any maintenance,” said Tasker.
The OTTER, which is a barge, is being developed in partnership with D02E International and Outbound Engineering. The barge with patented D02E Oxygen Transfer Technology will focus mainly on aeration and on water treatment in tailings ponds, lagoons, lakes with algae problems and anywhere where there are odour problems and aeration required. The product is energy efficient with no moving parts in the effluent, which means that no man is required to enter the effluent pond.
The OTTER, explained Tasker, also prevents sludge layers from building up along with stopping odour.
It can treat bacteria as well, increasing dissolved oxygen which then makes the pond more efficient and healthier.
“Its going to take us a while to get the first ones in but once it’s in, it’s absolutely revolutionary,” he said.
The products will be made here in Victoria with the first customers either in Alberta or B.C, and he added the company has been in talks with Australia and has already presented the plan to Suncor and multiple others.
EMCS’ main product is the Marelco Marine Growth and Corrosion Control, which controls the corrosion of seawater piping systems and is also effective against scale formation too. Improvements to the original system over the years has seen the production of an anti-corrosion and anti-fouling system.
Tasker said he has big plans for the future of the business and is hoping to see it grow.
“I intend to grow this business, that’s why we moved into this area now because we’re going to be manufacturing everything ourselves so it allows us to reduce our manufacturing cost,” he said.
“EMCS has been a big part of Victoria and the Island for the last 60 years and now it’s going to be a far bigger part of that picture.”
EMCS was bought from RMW Holdings Ltd., which will retain a 20 per cent share in the company.
The company started out in 1955 as the only business of its kind on the Island and it has products in 18 countries.
