Imtech helps solve water problems in South Africa
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Gouda, the Netherlands - Imtech (technical services provider in Europe and in
the global marine market) announces that in the context of its Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) policy, it has succeeded in substantially improving water
supplies in the Gert Sibande District Municipality (formerly Transvaal) in South
Africa. The operational output of local waste water purification systems is now
remotely monitored 24/7 by an intelligent Internet system, so that possible
failures are immediately flagged and resolved. In addition, an operational
improvement and maintenance plan has been implemented to improve operations on
location. The output of the waste water treatment process in Gert Sibande forms
part of the input for the production of clean drinking water for the cities of
Johannesburg and Pretoria. On balance, this has reduced water wastage by dozens
of percent and considerably improved the quality and safety of the drinking
water.
Imtech CEO Rene van der Bruggen: 'Many of the major global issues - water,
energy and the environment - relate to and can be solved by technology. Imtech
is one of the strongest technical players in Europe and has relevant knowledge
in this area. In addition, we believe, in the context of our CSR policy, in
boosting local organisations and entrepreneurs in developing countries. This is
achieved by sending our own specialists to Third World countries - which we have
been doing since 2008 - and hooking them up with these local organisations. If
you offer local people the right knowledge and technology, they are able to find
their own targeted solutions for their own challenges and issues, which also
boosts the prosperity and welfare of local communities in developing countries.
Every year, we make a disinterested investment of around one million euro in
this part of our CSR programme.'
Cosmas Blaauw of Imtech partner SharePeople sees Imtech's practical approach to
CSR as a good example of the new-style development aid as advocated by Dutch
State Secretary Ben Knapen. Blaauw: 'The Netherlands' new development aid policy
stakes its cards, among other things, on active partnerships with the Dutch
private sector. However, this does not necessarily have to lead to business
opportunities in developing countries. Imtech has seen added value in its CSR
approach since as early as 2008. Sharing knowledge and technology contributes to
economic progress in developing countries. At the same time, these projects
increase skills and knowledge of Imtech's employees. They go on to also share
this knowledge internally. This process has led to the development of new forms
of services within Imtech, which are now being implemented within the Amsterdam
Smart City initiative, for instance. In addition, involved employees are
lifelong CSR ambassadors within Imtech, and serve as a strong source of
inspiration in daily practice. Moreover, customers and other stakeholders get to
know Imtech as a company that takes its social responsibility seriously.'
Water issues in South Africa
Since the end of Apartheid, the South African population has had a
constitutional right to water. However, in recent years, South Africa has
suffered an increasing shortage of clean water. In a country where over a
quarter of the population lives on USD 1.25 or less per day, a large number of
people depend on this water supply. Many municipalities and districts can,
however, no longer guarantee the quality and availability of the mains water.
The Gert Sibande District Municipality had to deal with a complex set of issues:
waste water and clean water were not given the right chemical treatment, there
was insufficient awareness about water usage and (waste) water management and
the water supply of major cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria threatened to
stagnate.
In 2010 and 2011, an effort was made to solve these issues, by deploying various
teams of Imtech specialists drawn from four countries. In partnership with the
Gert Sibande District Municipality, the team worked on an awareness campaign
combating the wastage and pollution of water and developed a system to improve
the quality of the waste water process, monitor it via the Internet and
professionally manage the quality and availability of clean water. After the
test phase, this system will be made available later this year to a number of
water purification systems in South Africa. The Netherlands Embassy is involved
in this process. The Dutch knowledge network organisation SharePeople, which
specialises in dispatching multidisciplinary development teams to Third World
countries, acts as Imtech's partner.
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More information
Media: Analysts & investors:
Pieter Koenders Jeroen Leenaers
Director Corporate Communications Manager Investor Relations
T: +31 655 74 65 85 T: +31 182 54 35 04
E:pieter.koenders(at)imtech.eu E:jeroen.leenaers(at)imtech.eu
www.imtech.eu www.imtech.eu
Imtech profile
Imtech N.V. is a European technical services provider in the fields of
electrical engineering, ICT (information and communication technology) and
mechanical engineering. With approximately 26,000 employees, Imtech achieves
annual revenue of around 4.5 billion euro. Imtech holds strong positions in the
buildings and industry markets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany,
Austria, Eastern Europe, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, Ireland and Spain, the
European markets of ICT and Traffic as well as in the global marine market. In
total Imtech serves 21,000 customers. Imtech offers added value with integrated
and multidisciplinary total solutions that lead to better business processes and
more efficiency for customers and the customers they, in their turn, serve.
Imtech also offers solutions that contribute towards a sustainable society, for
example in the areas of energy, the environment, water and mobility. Imtech
shares are listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange Amsterdam, where Imtech is
included in the Midkap Index. Imtech shares are also included in the Dow Jones
STOXX 600 index.
pdf version of press release:
http://hugin.info/130755/R/1528571/464255.pdf
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Source: Imtech N.V. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1528571]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 06.07.2011 - 09:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 56167
Anzahl Zeichen: 7436
contact information:
Town:
Gouda
Kategorie:
Business News
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