SUNDRE – The company that has been contracted to install new state-of-the-art technology in a facility that will enhance the municipality’s existing sewage lagoon system has established Sundre as its Canadian headquarters.
In a written statement provided to the Albertan, Soneera Water Canada Ltd. CEO Darrell Behan said the company had just settled on the purchase of a $3.15 million office and warehouse facility in Sundre’s southwest industrial district on a lot boasting 31,654 square feet.
“Soneera has just purchased a new office and warehouse complex in Sundre and after fit-out it will become our Canadian and global headquarters along with its state-of-the-art research centre,” reads part of the statement submitted by Behan.
In other words, once the retrofit is complete, the facility will be fully equipped with a laboratory as well as a research and development centre, he explained.
“There are dozens of pollutants, including PFAS, that need to be treated before being released to the environment or cleaned up from the environment and we know we can treat the majority of these,” he continued.
PFAS is an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world since about the 1950s.
“But we need lineal data to prove that our technology can treat these pollutants to the required levels,” said Behan.
In order to do so, the company intends to increase the warehouse as well as research and development space by a further 4,000 square feet.
“We aim to do that next summer,” he said in his statement, later adding during follow-up questions over a phone interview that project is expected to cost another roughly $1.3 million.
Although companies generally prefer to have in place “a pipeline of orders with a strong cashflow before setting up a research centre and laboratory, our board of directors decided to move forward immediately mainly due to the availability to purchase a new office and warehouse complex and the need to keep our technology at the forefront of wastewater treatment.”
The building, which is located at 816, 5th Avenue SW and was purchased on Monday, July 29, is a perfect fit that “ticks 10 out of the 10 boxes for us; and its quality in construction is second to none,” Behan wrote.
“Soneera has attracted significant investment enabling the company to move forward without the burden of capital restraints,” he added.
That means the company can fully pursue research and development as well as quote future projects using a fixed-price guaranteed performance model without needing to raise extra operating or project capital, he said.
“We’ve got the capital now to do whatever we wish to do,” he said during the interview, adding the company is no longer a little player in wastewater treatment.
“We’ve got some major Canadian shareholders on board with some big pockets.”
In his written statement, Behan said Soneera has established relationships with Canadian manufacturers and construction partners.
“For example, we have worked with a global pump manufacturer to ensure that the pumps in the Sundre plant are 25 per cent more energy efficient than standard wastewater pumps,” he said.
“We have worked with our suppliers and manufacturers to ensure that every component of the Sundre wastewater treatment plant is using the latest cost-effective and energy efficient technologies.”
That, in turn, is expected to reduce the operational costs for municipalities that opt to implement the technology to upgrade their own treatment facilities, he said.
As for why Soneera selected Sundre as its main base of operations, Behan wrote that the municipality is well situated with proximity to several larger urban centres such as Calgary – which of course boasts an international airport – as well as Airdrie, Red Deer and Olds. As a result, he said he does not expect to have issues finding staff.
Another “major factor” that further solidified the decision was local support and a can-do attitude from the municipality’s council, including mayor Richard Warnock and chief administrative officer Linda Nelson as well as “the friendliness of the locals,” he said.
Never before has Behan seen “a community so interested in a wastewater and sewerage project,” he said, adding the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre riding’s MLA Jason Nixon has also been supportive.
“From local supply companies to the local residents, they have all taken an interest in the Sundre wastewater project. We are asked daily from the local coffee shops, in restaurants and at local suppliers: ‘How is everything going with your project?’” he said.
