Fisher Controls International Honored by
Water Environment Federation
MARSHALLTOWN,
Iowa, November 23, 1999 – The Water Environment Federation (WEF) recently named the
Fisher Controls’ Marshalltown Governor Road Plant as the recipient of the 1999
Industrial Water Quality Achievement Award. The plant was honored for reducing its volume
of wastewater discharge while improving the overall quality of its effluent.
"We
feel honored that the Water Environment Federation singled us out from among the thousands
of U.S. firms that could have been considered for this award," said Terry Buzbee,
Fisher Valve Division president. "The real credit goes to the employees who took our
long-standing environmental stewardship to heart and made this project possible. We also
would like to thank Fred Bayer and Mike Fields of the City of Marshalltown’s Water
Pollution Control Plant for their support in nominating us for this honor. I also thank
the Iowa Water Pollution Control Association for making the recommendation to the
Federation."
The
Industrial Water Quality Achievement Award is presented to a corporation that best
demonstrates significant, lasting, measurable excellence in water quality improvement or
in the prevention of water quality degradation as demonstrated by innovative design and
operation of an industrial wastewater, pretreatment, or source reduction program.
Between
1997 and 1999, Fisher’s Governor Road Plant decreased the flow of treated water
leaving the plant from an average of 72,000 gallons per month to only 23,000 gallons per
month – a reduction of 68 percent. In addition to reducing the volume, the quality of
the remaining discharge was improved substantially. Because of the increased efficiency,
the plant was also able to reduce hazardous waste by 42 percent during the same time
frame.
A
group of Fisher employees recognized that systems at the Marshalltown plant could be
improved by identifying and separating waste streams. The streams were identified at the
point of origin, process changes were made, and wastewater was segregated into 21
different collectable streams to achieve the reduction in treated water.
The
employees responsible for the new system were Ron Bane, process engineer; Doug Johnson,
environmental specialist; Marv Hawkins, process engineer; Larry Sease, maintenance
technician; Bernard Uhde, pretreatment supervisor; Sandy Wise, facilities engineer; and
Marion Witte, technical associate. Sease and Uhde have since retired from the company.
Fisher
received the award on October 12 at WEFTEC ’99, the Water Environment
Federation’s 72nd annual technical conference and exposition in New
Orleans, La. More than 16,000 of the world’s leading water quality experts and 800
companies, featuring the latest in water pollution control technology, attended the event.
The
Water Environment Federation is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization.
Its goal is to preserve and enhance the global water environment. Federation members
number more than 40,000 water quality professionals and specialists from around the world,
including engineers, scientists, government officials, utility and industrial managers and
operators, academics, educators and students, equipment manufacturers and distributors,
and other environmental specialists.
Fisher
Controls is a global leader in the design, manufacture, application, and servicing of
final control systems. With manufacturing, sales, and service offices worldwide, Fisher
provides an unmatched response to the needs of the energy and process industries.
Fisher Controls International LLC
is a member of the Emerson Process Management group of companies.
Emerson Process Management is a part of Emerson (NYSE:EMR).
Accepting the Water
Environment Federation Award are left to right: Mike Fields, Director City of Marshalltown
Water Pollution Control Plant; who nominated Fisher and team members Marion Witte, Fisher
Technical Associate; Doug Johnson, Fisher Environmental Specialist; and Ron Allen, Fisher
Valve Division Director, Operational Excellence. |
