13 April 2023: Australian company EPOC Enviro, a leading global provider of a sustainable PFAS remediation technology, has today announced plans to open a major manufacturing base in North Carolina, USA.
With a production schedule already filled until 2024, the new manufacturing facility in Statesville, North Carolina, will initially employ up to 225 staff and build 150 SAFF® (Surface Active Foam Fractionation) units annually, and exclusively, for the US market.
SAFF ® represents a sustainably engineered approach to PFAS remediation, where air bubbles are used to ‘foam out’ 99+ per cent of target PFAS contaminants, permanently stripping them from the ecosystem. The technology is recognised as a naturally elegant PFAS solution that produces no waste, other than a high density PFAS concentrate, ensuring zero environmental harm.
“Our move to Statesville feels well timed,” said EPOC Enviro President, Pete Murphy. “With new US EPA guidelines recently announced around PFAS, and the SAFF® systems now recognised and proven as a practical and efficient full-scale solution, there has never been a better ‘right time right place’ moment to expand our manufacturing into the USA,” he said.
The 24,000m2 Statesville manufacturing facility will complement existing SAFF® manufacturing already taking place in Emu Plains, Australia, with a significant knowledge transfer between the two nations now in action as recruitment and training ramps up at Statesville.
Earlier this year, EPOC Enviro announced a partnership with American companies Heritage Crystal Clean, Revive Environmental (part of the Battelle group of companies) and Allonnia. This holistic combination of technologies and expertise, known as 4never™, is providing a compelling closed loop PFAS solution for landfill and industrial waste management markets, and significantly enhancing demand for SAFF® technology.
“This is an exciting time for us. We have pioneered and refined the technology, and it is already proven on multiple sites across three continents including Australia. With the recent 4never announcement consolidating a solid platform of high-performance US partners, the manufacturing move to Statesville feels like everything is falling into place,” he said.
“Four years ago we made a conscious decision to explore manufacturing offshore as we have received good traction in both the European and US markets, with the US firing a little bit faster. With the right partners in place and a warm welcome from our US counterparts, we are confident Statesville will be a strong complement to our Australian production.”
“Our award-winning SAFF® technology has already visited eight different US states, and we are looking forward to leveraging this impact to all corners of the globe including back home in Australia to help communities remediate their PFAS impacted waters.”
EPOC Enviro expects to fill some 90 positions by 2024, with the first US built SAFF units scheduled to start their important PFAS remediation work in July 2023.
ENDS
More information on SAFF: www.epocenviro.com
Animation showing how SAFF works: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUutrt3VFYU
SAFF news: www.linkedin.com/company/78794299/admin/
Media release – SAFF unit operating in Minnesota: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/news-and-stories/mpca-brings-cutting-edge-technology-to-minnesota-to-remove-pfas-from-water
Media queries: Michelle Mahon, EPOC Enviro Communications Manager [email protected]
WHO IS EPOC ENVIRO? Protecting and improving the environment
EPOC Enviro is an award-winning environmental engineering firm. The EPOC acronym stands for ‘Emerging Pollutants of Concern’.
Our mission is to develop and implement clever and practical engineering solutions on a global scale to permanently remove PFAS and other emerging contaminants from the environment.
At EPOC Enviro, we proudly apply the principles of intelligent design, sustainable engineering and green chemistry to our craft.
Since 2014, EPOC scientists and engineers have worked collaboratively with clients and stakeholders to develop and patent remedial solutions to remove PFAS from water, soil and hardstand.
WHAT IS PFAS?
PFAS are a family of synthetic compounds widely used globally to make products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water. PFAS compounds break down very slowly over time and are recognised as an ‘emerging contaminant’ with widespread concerns about their characteristics of persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and impacts on human health.
