Vortex is a company to watch: research

PRESCOTT, ARIZ: Vortex Corporation, a global innovator of chemical-free water and air purification products for consumer and commercial use, was named in a recent Red Herring Research Report as one of 12 private companies with potentially disruptive technologies in the emerging residential water treatment market. In the May, 2007 CleanTech water technology market report, “Liquid Assets: Residential Water Technologies,” Red Herring Research stated there is “great opportunity” for the targeted companies to gain a “significant share” of the global water treatment market over the next few years.

The May report comes on the heels of a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule requiring water utilities to begin monitoring and treating ground water contamination, such as adenoviruses. According to WaterTech Online.com, a Janney Montgomery Scott investment firm report finds that the rule is likely to increase demand for water monitoring and disinfection systems, prompting a shift away from chlorine disinfection toward systems that use specialty chemicals such as chloramines or ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. Red Herring Research noted it is finding consumers’ lack of confidence in municipal and industrial treatment efforts is also resulting in a paradigm shift – one in which residents are increasingly actively purchasing advanced water treatment devices. According to Red Herring Research, that is resulting in significant opportunities for companies such as Vortex specializing in water treatment and distribution.

“Vortex’s unique treatment process utilizes the most advanced water treatment technology,” said Vortex Corporation Chief Executive Officer Ray Denkewicz. “Vortex’s patented UltraviOzone technology mimics natural water purification to cleanse water without chlorine, known to present serious health and safety hazards.”

Vortex’s photo-oxidation technology simulates the environment’s natural water purification phenomenon by way of an innovative application of ultraviolet light and ozone – patented technology applicable and scalable to a range of water-purification solutions. The newly redesigned Vortex Water Machine, a residential water treatment point-of-use (POU) device, is now modular and easier and safer to use, providing the freshest and healthiest drinking water. Vortex has developed a whole-house system in conjunction with co-development partner, the University of Arizona’s Water Quality Center, a leading authority on drinking water issues. This Point of Entry (POE) system ensures high quality water in residential showers, laundries, and sinks. Vortex is currently working to develop a ground water treatment system and expects to conduct a field trial with a major utility later this year. Vortex recently moved manufacturing to China to accommodate strong global demand for its products, particularly in Asia.

“No one technology is effective for treating water – whether in a residential, municipal, or third-world setting,” said Ray Denkewicz. “By combining a multitude of technologies, Vortex’s multi-barrier approach effectively utilizes three disinfectants to ensure it is eradicating each and every organism it comes into contact with, from the Avian Influenza A Virus in water, to highly contagious adenoviruses which are destroyed by chlorine and ozone but not by UV, to organisms yet to be discovered.”

Funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop chemical-free water purification technology for municipal use, Vortex has spearheaded the Interactive UV/Ozone System as a Chlorine Alternative project with support from the University of Arizona’s Water Quality Center. The Department of Homeland Security has identified chlorine gas transportation and storage as a top 20 domestic terrorist threat, and the project has the potential to significantly reduce or eliminate the nation’s dependency on chlorine as a primary water treatment disinfectant.