POMONA, CALIF. — General Environmental Management, Inc. (GEM) signed a definitive letter of intent to acquire Santa Clara Waste Water (SCWW), a profitable, 50-year-old wastewater treatment business. As one of the top 100 privately owned non-hazardous wastewater utilities in the U.S., SCWW has treated more than 2 billion gallons of wastewater.

“We are thrilled to have come to an agreement to acquire SCWW and are eager to work with them to achieve their goal of becoming the premier independent non-hazardous wastewater management company; first in California, then the western region and eventually in the United States,” said Tim Koziol, GEM Chief Executive Officer. “We are acquiring not only a long time successful company with a great track record and valuable assets, but are partnering with one of the finest management teams in the environmental management business led by SCWW CEO, Doug Edwards. Doug and his team have set the standard for wastewater management. Their facility situated on five acres of strategically located land in Santa Clara Valley, along with their unique and invaluable 12.7 mile pipeline from their facility to the city of Oxnard’s water reclamation center, gives GEM a corner stone to build a regional and then national presence in the water treatment market.”

“After getting to know GEM over that past few years, I am very excited to be uniting with their management team to build upon the success we have earned at SCWW,” said Doug Edwards. “I have had a vision of growth for SCWW and am confident that by teaming with GEM, together we’ll be able to make that vision a reality. The wastewater treatment market is large and will continue to grow as demand for water treatment increases exponentially. With its key assets, experience, knowledge set and strategic plan, SCWW is uniquely positioned to become one of the foremost wastewater treatment companies in the U.S. In addition, we have a number of unique products and services in development that we can bring to market faster and with greater efficiency with the help of GEM’s talented management group.”

According to Koziol, GEM is focused on closing the SCWW transaction and continuing its research and development to strategically enter the waste-to-energy markets. The company previously announced that its board of directors elected to shift its business focus from hazardous waste field services to the fast-growing water treatment and waste-to-energy markets.

"Domestically, the water industry is a $120 billion market that is expected to grow at 6 to 7 percent over the next year,” said Koziol. “On a global basis, the industry size exceeds $400 billion annually and increasing with the demands of a growing world population. The industry is third in gross revenue behind both power generation and oil. The global waste-to-energy market is a $19.9 billion market with expected CAGR of 6.7 percent over the next five years. We believe these are markets that we can leverage our seasoned management skills to bring value to our stockholders. The entire team is motivated and excited in making this move."