Gradiant buys major Taiwanese design, construction firm
BOSTON, July 12, 2022
Gradiant, a global solutions provider and developer for cleantech water, said it has acquired WaterPark Environment Corp (WaterPark), a design and construction firm based in Taiwan focused on water technologies for advanced manufacturing in the high tech industries of semiconductor and microelectronics.
Announcing the strategic move, Gradiant said the acquisition strengthens its portfolio of proprietary technologies and applications expertise in industrial water, specifically high-rate biological wastewater, advanced oxidation, and ultrapure water.
Gradiant’s full range of technologies and end-to-end solutions will also become accessible to the leading manufacturers of Taiwan’s advanced industries that WaterPark serves.
Existing semiconductor and microelectronics clients of the combined business include the world’s most established brands such as Global Foundries, Micron, Intel, TSMC, UMC, AUO, and Chimei.
On its key partnership, Chief Operating Officer Prakash Govindan said: "It will help semiconductor and other advanced industries achieve the purest water at the highest yield while meeting environmental discharge limits and recovering precious resources that would have otherwise been wasted."
"For global industries under pressure from the supply chain shortage, climate change, and rising material costs, our technology innovations are essential to meet business needs for operational continuity, sustainability, and cost," stated Govindan.
"We are experiencing a prolonged global shortage of semiconductors that are required to control everything from automobiles to smartphones to appliances. As the semiconductor shortage persists, manufacturers face increasingly greater pressure to adopt sustainable and efficient practices in their water operations," he added.
WaterPark Chairman Huey-Song You said “Taiwan leads the world in regulating industrial water reuse and wastewater discharge. The island is the world’s centre for semiconductor manufacturing and currently holds 65% of the global market share."
"Driven by strategic interests for risk management in the supply chain and self-sufficiency, semiconductor manufacturing is extending to new regions that are leveraging Taiwan’s best practices in water management in their production," noted Song You.
WaterPark is a spin-off from ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) and since its inception in 1973, its proprietary technologies solve the range of water challenges of industrial clients throughout Asia Pacific using advanced biological, chemical, and physical processes.
"Combining our proprietary technologies and industry expertise with Gradiant’s total water and digital solutions, we will help advanced manufacturing facilities worldwide best manage their water," he added.
Gradiant was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to deploy sustainable water treatment solutions. Today, with 450 employees, it operates from the global HQ in Boston, regional HQ and global technology labs in Singapore and offices in 12 countries.-TradeArabia News Service
