Pretoria-headquartered Aqua Horizon Technologies (AHT) is an environmental engineering company specialising in water treatment. “We aim to provide long-term low life-cycle cost technology to the market, achieved by conducting continuous research and development and in-house manufacturing,” says company founder and CEO Jacques Steyn.
“We are passionate about solving water treatment challenges by means of innovative technologies. We do not see problems; we only see multiple solutions. We present a complete line of filtration systems to help solve the toughest filtration issues of today. Our problem-solution approach, locally produced products, and technical and engineering expertise are our strengths. Solutions are tailored for complete satisfaction – from production to compliance.”
“We are committed to R&D, as research and development keep us ahead of our competitors, as well as creating a mindset eager to change and develop ourselves – that is why our clients support us and why they choose us. Our top clients have been with us for decades and all of our major customers keep on coming back because they trust us – we do what we promise, always.”
That approach has won Aqua Horizon Technologies a global client base that includes companies such as Rio Tinto, Total, Puma, Astron/Chevron oil, Anglo Platinum and many more.
The right mindset
Mr Steyn, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, established the company in 1995 while still pursuing his studies but its core business was very different then.
“We started from humble beginnings as African Horizon Tours, a specialised safari tour operator, then transformed into African Horizon Planning, a town and regional planning company, before eventually becoming Aqua Horizon Technology,” he says.
“The focus has always been on the ‘Horizon’ – you cannot evolve and grow if you don’t keep moving forward. In life and business, this approach helps us and our clients to be goal-driven and future-focused.”
Although most of AHT’s clients come from the mining and oil and gas sectors, the company can meet the needs of any industry that uses hydrocarbons in its processes and has a need for oil-water separation solutions. Today, Aqua Horizon Technologies has installations in 24 countries worldwide, covering most industrial sectors.
Mr Steyn reflects that one of AHT’s biggest accomplishments is the creation of the entire value chain of water treatment technologies for oil pollution. “People don’t realise how big oil pollution is globally – it only takes one litre of oil to pollute a million litres of water. This can be quite an issue in many industries and in many production processes.”
“Water treatment is a complex process, and each industry has its own unique challenges – understanding the client’s needs has always been very important to us and we focus on achieving a clear understanding of our clients’ needs before we start with the design of a solution.”
Environmentally sustainable solutions
Focussing on sustainability has been a major part of the business, and Mr Steyn affirms that clients appreciate the fact that AHT’s equipment has a long lifecycle and very few moving or replacement parts, meaning a low life-cycle cost.
“We help our clients see sustainability in the correct way – which means that spending money today on water treatment will save them money tomorrow, next year and the next decade. Companies that don’t spend money on sound environmentally sustainable solutions will not survive the next decade.”
He notes that the net zero debate significantly intensified during the pandemic, and the market trend is to measure and monitor. “Never has the world been more obsessed with AI and the analysis of data. At Aqua Horizon Technologies we have been preaching this to our clients for a decade now – you can only manage water if you can measure it. All our equipment has been engineered with data collection in mind.”
One of the most successful outcomes of the company’s continuous drive to research and develop better solutions for oil-water separation, has been Hydraspin, the in-house developed hydro-cyclone technology that has been consistently improved year after year.
Hydraspin and Hydramix
Hydro cyclones have been tried, tested, and proven globally for over 30 years. Hydraspin partnered with the world’s 1st patented hydro cyclone and with continuous improvement, companies can expect compliance and payback in as little as 3 months. The system, designed to assist with oil-water separation, uses 3000x the force of gravity to effectively remove 95% of 10-micron oil droplets. The remaining dissolved oil can be removed by Hydramix.
“Knowing the limitations of each technology and how to link the technologies efficiently to remove all the oil from water and doing so economically, is what I consider our biggest achievement. Hydramix focuses on dissolved oil which is one of the biggest challenges industries face and starts where Hydraspin stops -the Hydramix system reduces oil down to 2-5 microns (99.9% recovery) while being the lowest life-cycle cost technology.”
The system has been applied in various industries, from oil and gas to mines. “Meeting global standards in oil-water discharge limits is a challenge for all industries. Within the mining industry, this challenge is increased by the necessity to use surfactants and solvent-based degreasers. It is thus crucial to make use of a powerful separation process such as Hydraspin, which ensures low discharge.”
“Achieving net zero targets starts with the installation of Hydraspin to ensure all free and emulsified oils are removed. Our system embodies the mindset that the world needs to have when it comes to water treatment.”
Sustainable for future generations
Speaking about the future, Mr Steyn says that the company will continue to invest in people and technology. The goal is to offer the complete value chain and manufacture technology to aid or replace old water treatment plants.
“I believe that we will roll out our solutions to the midstream and upstream oil sectors globally, and I expect we will be confronted with huge demand in water treatment in all industries. We will be focussing on oil-water separation, storm-water treatment and optimizing over-capacitated water treatment plants by implementing new compact and more efficient water treatment systems.”
Aqua Horizon Technologiesis clearly in the right sector at the right time, and Mr Steyn is confident demand will increase globally. “I believe water is going to be a massive topic. People don’t realise how close we are to a global water crisis with climate change. Catastrophic environmental events are on the increase and storm-water management is a very big focus for us going forward.”
“We know the ‘Horizon’ is our future and we work every day to ensure it will be pure, good, clean and most of all sustainable for future generations,” he concludes.
