20 years of W.E.T.
Our press release from January 2023
W.E.T. GmbH - where visionaries work on the water treatment of the future
The portrait of a more than 20-year success story from Kasendorf
Founded in 2002, W.E.T. Wasser.Energie.Technologie GmbH from the Krumme Fohre district of Kasendorf is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary on the market. When the company officially started operations with one employee in January 2003, no one could have imagined that the specialised company for water treatment by means of membrane filtration would one day become the German and Scandinavian market leader in this field. Today, a total of 220 employees work at the Upper Franconian site in a group of companies that have jointly set themselves the goal of developing environmentally friendly innovative solutions in the field of water treatment and automation technology. The core business areas are the treatment of drinking water, swimming pool water, process water and waste water.
Water treatment - a topic that the majority of the population probably only very rarely deals with consciously. This is why W.E.T. enjoys an international reputation in professional circles, but many people are not familiar with it as a company or employer in the region. The situation is quite different when it comes to the company's projects and customers: Anyone who has jumped from the diving tower of Kulmbach's open-air swimming pool could dive into purified, germ-free bathing water thanks to W.E.T.. In various thermal pools - for example in the Bad Steben thermal baths or in Bad Staffelstein - the specialist based here ensures the highest water quality. And part of the tap water from the Kulmbach district also comes from the W.E.T. drinking water treatment plant, which is located in the Grundmühle near Marktschorgast. Reason enough to take a closer look at the company, which is driven by vision and innovation.
The development from a small business to a unique group of companies
The fact that every end also holds a new beginning is shown particularly impressively in the founding story of W.E.T.: When the swimming pool water department of WABAG in Kulmbach was closed down, the employees affected by this, Michael Reis and Werner Sauerschell, decided together with the managing directors of Richter Steuerungstechnik GmbH not only to continue the water treatment process technologies here in the region, but to develop them further. "They then found their new home in Kasendorf," says Michael Otte, who supported the project from the very beginning and provided the then "start-up company" not only with operating space but also with his know-how as commercial manager.
This is why W.E.T. and its sister company Richter Steuerungstechnik still share the same location and Michael Otte as one of the managing directors. Thanks to this close relationship, a strategic partnership has developed over the last two decades under the umbrella of inuwat AG. Together, the two companies in the group work together with the aim of contributing to the protection of the valuable resources of water and energy. This synergy and the expert knowledge that has been built up together over the years make it possible to jointly develop innovative technologies in the field of environmental, water and automation technology and to advance these.
The revolution of the standard
Over 250 swimming pool water treatment plants and more than 30 drinking water treatment plants have been planned, built and commissioned by W.E.T. in recent years. "It is the combination of expert knowledge and the many years of practical experience of our employees that form the basis for the development of new innovative processes in water treatment," is how Sales Manager Matthias Sesselmann sums it up. For example, former Managing Director Michael Reis was in charge of ensuring that the DIN standard for the treatment of swimming and bathing water also included treatment by means of ultrafiltration - a process that was originally only used for drinking water and enables the highest hygienic water quality in swimming pools.
Extraordinary ideas - always on the pulse of time
To this day, W.E.T. comes up with unique solutions and concepts. These include many of its own products that are developed and implemented in the factory, such as a standardised treatment plant for swimming pool water that is so compact and modular that it fits through any door without any problems, even during renovation, has a very small space requirement and is also quasi "all-inclusive", already equipped with all the necessary control and regulation technology. Or a recycling system for rinse water, with which a swimming pool operator can save 75 % water in addition to waste water and heating energy.
In addition to pure product development and plant construction, the company is also breaking new, customer-friendly ground in the area of service. W.E.T.datadrive is the name of the latest software product - a portal that displays all plant data in real time and has an integrated ticket system that immediately detects errors and thus relieves operators as well as helping the experts from the company's own service department to optimise and maintain the plant.
The know-how as well as the high reputation of W.E.T. on the market becomes clear when one looks at one of the latest major projects: For Siemens Energy, the company is currently building a plant for the circulation treatment of water for the production of hydrogen. A product with ion exchange technology was developed especially for this purpose, which ensures that the high-purity water quality is constantly maintained in this sensitive process. The hydrogen is then used in Denmark, where it is used as the basis for green fuel for CO2-neutral shipping, among other things. "The production of hydrogen requires the highest purest water quality. We have the know-how for this very complex process, which will be in greater demand than ever in the future," explains Matthias Sesselmann. "This makes us a global player and shows the enormous importance of this technology, which will be more important than ever in the future."
