OriginClear (OCLN)
OriginClear (OCLN) leads the self-reliant water revolution, deploying advanced technologies at the point of use, with modular, prefabricated systems that create durable assets and water independence for industry, commerce and agriculture.
Systems installed at the point of use become productive assets for businesses that also increase property values. And OriginClear helps corporations improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) standings with world-class water management.
Operations & Markets
OriginClear leads a new generation of water companies that focus on meeting the needs of businesses looking for compact, advanced technologies that can be shipped to and installed at the point of use. The company manufactures and distributes its professional-grade water treatment and conveyance products to commercial and industrial properties, fielding both direct and indirect sales channels to reach end-market clients such as hotels and resorts, real estate housing developments, office buildings, military installations, schools, farms, food and beverage manufacturers, industrial warehouse, oil and gas producers, and medical and pharmaceutical facilities.
From its Texas-based factory, OriginClear designs and prefabricates an entire line of plug-n-play containerized units called Modular Water Systems™ that enable water purification, recycling and wastewater management.
Industrial Pretreatment Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) designed by Daniel M. Early, using reinforced thermoplastic modules.
These onsite modular products provide clients with water independence through ownership and operational control over water quality, enabling them to increase productivity while reducing environmental, health and safety risks from pollution, contamination and corrosion. Modular water products are trusted to balance performance with cost-effectiveness, enabling business users to go well beyond municipal standards for water quality, therefore achieving high levels of satisfaction for their own customers, and improved sustainability for their properties.
OriginClear's water treatment equipment can boost real estate asset value as a fundamental capital improvement, combined with long-lasting water savings for the corporate bottom line.
Product Portfolio
OriginClear groups its products into three main categories:
- Water Treatment: achieving high grade purification.
- Water Conveyance: water transportation and pumping.
- Advanced Technologies: commercialization of innovative technologies.
OriginClear's complete line of compact, on-site, point-of-use products include: advanced purification systems that are skid, rack-mounted and containerized for reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, media filtration, disinfection, water softening, ion exchange and electrodeionization (EDI), combined as needed in small to medium commercial and industrial applications, and custom-build projects. Water conveyance products include pump and lifting stations, modular storage tanks, and control monitoring panels.
OriginClear's line of modular water products and systems is key to the self-reliant water treatment revolution as they create "instant infrastructure" – fully engineered, prefabricated and prepackaged systems that use durable, sophisticated materials. The units are available in standard capacities for onsite closed-loop systems at commercial business locations.
The company's rugged wastewater treatment plants, highly reliable pump stations, and premium water purification units typically offer 25 percent lower initial costs over conventional systems, with greater quality and full connectivity. These pump stations and wastewater treatment products utilize high density thermo-plastics (HDPE) and proprietary, innovative prefabrication methods and materials that deliver the longest life and strongest products.
Breakthrough Technologies
OriginClear has a long history of innovation through its OriginClear Technologies division, which is responsible for identifying leading-edge technologies to solve today's toughest challenges. These advanced technologies are the centerpiece of the division's international licensee network. The technologies are developed in OriginClear Technologies, and licensees integrate them into their own products.
Electro Water Separation™ (EWS) and Advanced Oxidation (AOx™) are the principal, well-proven technologies.
EWS is OriginClear's breakthrough water cleanup technology which utilizes a catalytic process to concentrate and eliminate suspended solids in the worst commercial and industrial wastewater.
AOx is OriginClear's proprietary advanced oxidation technology which generates a dense cloud of ozone, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, dramatically reducing or eliminating dissolved organic microtoxins, including bacteria and viruses, hormones, drugs, pesticides such as Roundup, and synthetics. AOx has also been shown to effectively reduce harmful chemicals such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide – the "rotten egg" smell in crude oil that reduces its value.
Through international licensing and partnerships, OriginClear's advanced technologies are being adopted to treat tough water problems in East and South Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and North America.
Market Opportunity
In just 10 years, the global water services market has doubled into a trillion-dollar industry, driven by improper sanitation and water scarcity. Only 20 percent of all sewage and only 30 percent of all industrial waste are ever treated. Additionally, water leakage results in the loss of 35 percent of all clean water across the planet; reducing that percentage by half would provide clean water for 100 million people. This is a situation of great danger, but also great potential.
The statistics demonstrate that we can no longer rely on the efficiencies of giant, centralized water utilities to meet these challenges. An increasing number of businesses are starting to take notice, instead conducting their own water treatment and recycling. Whether by choice or out of necessity, those businesses that do invest in onsite water systems get a tangible asset on their business and real estate, and can enjoy better water quality at a lower cost.
Out of the public's eye and with OriginClear's help, a growing number of self-reliant businesses are building Decentralized Water Wealth™ for themselves while also helping their community. They know that environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing guidelines, which represent $22 trillion of assets under management around the world, specifically note the key indicator of how well corporations manage their water.
10,000 Gallon per Day Industrial Membrane Bioreactor Waste Water Treatment Plant designed by Daniel M. Early, PE, using long-lived Structural Reinforced ThermoPlastic (SRTP)
OriginClear is a key enabler of ESG water management for corporations that are increasingly responsible for what was once delegated to central utilities. For example, when a corporation manages its own water, and uses OriginClear's proprietary hybrid treatment methods, it can significantly reduce both water use and nutrient footprints (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) in one compact package.
These hybrid processes feature advanced blackwater treatment with advanced clean water processing. They can convert toxic nutrients to less harmful compounds, and even capture them for beneficial reuse purposes, as shown in OriginClear's recent case study.
Revenue Growth through Synergy
Since OriginClear acquired it in 2015, Progressive Water Treatment has generated steady revenues in the range of a million dollars a quarter. It is now the Fabrication and Manufacturing Division for the whole company. The team at Modular Water Systems, headed by Chief Engineer Daniel M. Early, is responsible for overall design and high-level engineering. It relies on the Fabrication and Manufacturing Division to add incremental revenue for its modular product line, without requiring large increases in personnel.
OriginClear believes that these two business units can develop growing revenues through synergy and ultimately help achieve overall profitability. OriginClear also seeks to acquire profitable water companies that can complement the synergy of its existing units and accelerate both revenues and profitability. However, acquisitions are neither guaranteed, nor essential to OriginClear's continued growth.
Leadership
OriginClear's management team brings strong leadership and a background in managing business operations, sales, technologies, and finance. The team combines idealism with solid commercial skills, achieving a triple bottom line of environmental, social and financial gain.
Riggs Eckelberry – Chairman, CEO and Co-founder
Riggs Eckelberry is a veteran technology manager who led companies to multiple exits during the high-tech boom of the 90s and early 2000s. Eckelberry came to the water industry from a quarter century in high technology, specializing in commercializing breakthrough technologies. During the dotcom boom, he worked on a series of tech successes, such as Quarterdeck's CleanSweep; security software vendor Panda Software; and the sale of companies to EarthWeb, BeFree, and BellSouth. Just prior to founding what is now OriginClear, he helped drive security software company CyberDefender to an IPO on the Nasdaq as its president and chief operating officer.
Thomas Marchesello – Chief Operating Officer
Thomas Marchesello is a business operations and technology executive with over 20 years' experience in manufacturing and distribution of products and services. He has 12 years in private equity M&A, doing buyside acquisitions of small to midsize corporations. He has over 10 years advising innovative corporations on ESG strategy and speaks often about industry trends. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force, Space Command Headquarters for environmental sciences. He has held key roles for Fortune 500 companies such as Sony, Thompson Reuters, Morgan Stanley, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Daniel M. Early, PE – Senior Engineer
For the past 25 years, Dan Early has worked as an engineered products development specialist with very strong understanding of the complex and interconnected disciplines, economies, and governmental regulation needed to develop and sustain modern civil infrastructure systems that reflect a balance of environmental stewardship, social expectations, and cultural requirements. Since 2010, Early has specialized in the research, development, and deployment of next generation water infrastructure technologies using heavy plastic manufacturing. His initiatives and innovations anchor Modular Water Systems' product line.
Marc Stevens – Director of Fabrication and Manufacturing
Marc Stevens brings nearly 40 years of experience to OriginClear's manufacturing team. His experience in mechanical design, equipment fabrication, installation and a wide range of projects led to his founding what is now OriginClear's Fabrication and Manufacturing Division. He supervises the design, building and installation of customized, large-scale water treatment systems, including purification technologies for process waters for boilers and cooling towers, drinking water and various industrial waste water applications. Stevens leads the team that also manufactures OriginClear's standardized Modular Water Systems.