On the very same day, Neotek, recently founded by the ‘father’ of Martec, Claude Pacheco, took over Ponsel industrial business and distribution activities from Martec (Tekelec group). In France still, as environmental engineers France Gabion were becoming France Maccaferri, a former employee, Stéphane Courret, started up Aquaterra Solutions on 20 September with two experienced vegetation engineers, one German, one Dutch. With support from the Rhone Alps regional council, he was 2003 winner of the Entreprendre en France entrepreneurial award scheme. Lastly, Britain’s Ion Enterprise, proprietor of the ISB galvanic electrolysis water treatment system, now has an exclusive distributor for France and Belgium; three associaates set up ISB Water in September. Autumn is also the time for marriages, with Germany’s Aqua Society, which among other things developed a process for extracting drinking water from the atmosphere, being taken over by America’s VG Tech. Finland’s Kemira, claiming pole position in the European coagulants market, strengthened its position in the Central and Eastern European countries by acquiring the water treatment chemicals business from Polish Zlotnik and Slovene Belinda. On the Algerian marketplace, Sensus Metering Systems entered a joint venture with AMC and Algérienne des Eaux to manufacture and market water meters. Just before going to press, we hear of offers for investment funds, including Terra Firma (see page 16), for Saur. Find out more at Pollutec? More information ? Contact our journalist, Pascale Peignen-Séraline. Click here.