WATER ENGINEERING INC

Treating Water, Customers Right

In the heart of ethanol country, Water Engineering Inc. is putting producer relationships, service and process knowledge ahead of chemical sales.

While Omaha-based Water Engineering Inc. is known in the ethanol Wagenfuhr says her team can help producers assess investments in industry as a trusted provider of water treatment chemicals, Katie Wagen- new chemistries before they are introduced. “We help them see the possifuhr prefers not to push the company’s products on customers as the only bilities, understand the ROI, and any implications certain water treatments solution to their needs. might have on production,” she explains.

“Our customers rely on us for more than just chemicals,” says Wa- When chemicals are needed, ethanol producers turn to Water Engigenfuhr, vice president and co-owner of the company with her husband neering for a variety of products ranging from pretreatment chemicals to David Wagenfuhr. “We consult, we advise, we chemistries for cooling and boiler water treatment. The company provides provide analysis, and, ultimately, we help our specialty wastewater polymers and coagulants, and has access to chemicals customers get where they need to be with wa- used on the process side of ethanol production—evaporator scale inhibiter treatment.” tors, oil recovery agents and more. Water Engineering also specifies and This holistic approach, Wagenfuhr ex- installs equipment for pretreatment, reverse osmosis, chemical feed and plains, starts with an understanding of each control automation. Recently, the company even assisted a few ethanol client’s goals. “Every plant is different,” she plants with the implementation of activated carbon filtration for sanitizersays. “Some are part of larger, multi-plant grade alcohol production. companies, and their water treatment goals About two-thirds of Water Engineering’s clients work with the comKatie Wagenfuhr may be set by corporate, but it’s still the same pany on a fixed-rate basis. These customers receive a tailored water treatVice President Water Engineering Inc. process of sitting down with plant manag- ment program that includes service technician visits, on- and off-site testPHOTO: WATER ENGINEERING INC. ers and maintenance managers and discuss- ing and analyses, efficiency evaluations, operator training and more. “It’s a ing their broad objectives. Industry standards popular setup for ethanol producers because every penny matters in their set by organizations like NACE—the National Association of Corrosion business, and they don’t need surprises,” Wagenfuhr says. “With this apEngineers—and the Boiler Manufacturers Association, also guide our con- proach, they receive our full suite of products and services at a competitive versations.” monthly rate.”