Water Planet Inc has spun out its PolyCera® membranes product line into a separate subsidiary operating company called PolyCera Membranes.
An initial tranche of a US$8.75 million Series A financing round for PolyCera Membranes has also closed.
Simon Marshall, former partner at Amane Advisors, has joined PolyCera Membranes as its new CEO. Earlier in his career, Marshall held senior management positions at Ultura, Severn Trent and Eurofins and has led operations in North and Central America, the Far East including China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the Middle East and throughout Europe. He holds a degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from the University of Wolverhampton in the UK.
“We are excited about bringing Simon on as the new CEO for PolyCera Membranes,” said Eric Hoek, CEO of Water Planet. “He and I have known each other for years, and he was my first choice for the position. He brings to the company an exceptional business mindset and strong management experience that will be essential as we scale the business.”
PolyCera membranes extend the range of ultrafiltration performance beyond conventional ceramic and polymeric membranes. The PolyCera product line includes PolyCera Hydro for drinking water treatment, and PolyCera Titan for treatment of industrial wastewater including oily wastewater as well as wastewater characterized by extreme pH, high organics and/or high temperature.
Los Angeles, California-based Water Planet developed and brought to market the world’s first smart membrane products. These include PolyCera ultrafiltration membranes and IntelliFlux self-adaptive ultrafiltration membrane controls.
Hoek said the plan to establish PolyCera Membranes as a separate entity evolved from the success of both PolyCera and IntelliFlux technologies as commercial products.
“We found the two products required radically different operating models, selling strategies and execution capabilities and decided in early 2017 to form two separate business divisions within Water Planet, with me as the acting leader of PolyCera and Subir Bhattacharjee, Water Planet’s co-founder and chief technology officer as the acting leader of IntelliFlux,” said Hoek.
In autumn 2017, Water Planet spun out IntelliFlux as IntelliFlux Controls with Bhattacharjee as CEO, and divested its MembranePRO Services business to a group of private investors.
Hoek remains CEO of Water Planet and will continue to provide support for its companies on high-level strategic and technical matters.
“We are confident that this business model maximizes opportunities for continued growth of our membrane technology businesses. This new structure also allows me to support the operating businesses while continuing the original vision for Water Planet as the place where innovation happens,” added Hoek.
