Check out his month's “For Openers” column. The recent hurricanes, coupled with increased water quality concerns, are driving immediate demand for residential water treatment equipment.

Residential Water Treatment Market Growth

The recent hurricanes, coupled with increased water quality concerns, are driving immediate demand for residential water treatment equipment. A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan, “North American Residential Water Treatment Equipment Markets: Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities,” reveals that the residential water treatment equipment market earned revenue of $1.48 billion in 2004 and is predicted to reach $2.29 billion in 2011 with a seven-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 percent.

Increased consumer awareness is contributing to the additional projected market revenues. Also, the end-user composition is set to shift from basic treatment equipment to high-end sophisticated products. This shift toward the high-end treatment equipment denotes higher profit margins from these markets as these equipments carry a higher margin when compared to the basic treatment equipment filters. Thus, with the seven-year CAGR of 6.5 percent, the profit margins for this market expect to be a notch higher, which makes this a good investment destination.

“The residential water treatment equipment market faces direct competition from the bottled water market,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Santosh Ejanthkar. “Most participants try to outweigh this with the cost advantage that these equipments hold over the bottled water industry in the long run.”

Increasing market saturation currently is limiting growth in the market. Participants need to look for ways to attract new customers to the residential water treatment equipment market. “Americans are concerned about the quality of drinking water, but drastic measures have to be taken to attract these customers to shift from bottled water to residential water treatment equipment,” says Ejanthkar. The residential water treatment equipment market is a matured market in North America, with a good penetration base throughout its potential customers. Increased awareness of drinking water contamination is a key to market growth. Companies need to educate the individuals more about the water contaminants and the effectiveness of their products in treating these contaminants.

Continuing the Treatment Theme

This issue of National Driller is teeming with water treatment editorial. You'll find a wealth of information among all the articles. There's an overview of cartridge filters in Mark Rowzee's column, “A Filter for All Occasions.” And we offer a water treatment buyer's guide: It's a reference list of manufacturers and suppliers of water treatment products and systems available to contractors. We have a “Contractor Profile” that spotlights the efforts of Cribley Drilling Co. and its Champion Water Treatment division in southeast Michigan. And check out the results of our exclusive water treatment contracting survey to see what other water professionals are doing in this marketplace of opportunity.

Manufacturer/Supplier Alert

A second (and final) mailing is going out shortly to industry manufacturers and suppliers to ensure their inclusion in National Driller's “SourceBook 2006,” an exclusive reference guide appearing in the April issue. Make sure your firm's listing is up-to-date and features the desired enhancements. This annual directory is a must-keep publication used throughout the entire year by drilling contractors and water professionals looking for equipment and supplies; make sure your company is included.

Horror Stories

Our June issue will feature a section called, “Downhole Disasters.” Nearly all water professionals have experienced that “job-from-hell.” We invite you to share your tales of terror with the rest of the drilling world. Tell us what happened to make your blood run cold at the job site with all the gory details. E-mail (ettlingg@bnpmedia.com) or fax (248-502-1005) your abhorrent anecdotes by April 17 and we'll see who has the most spine-shivering story.

In Between Issues

National Driller has launched a new e-Newsletter. Distributed monthly, it contains news and information relevant to the drilling industry. Look for it in your e-mail in-box around the middle of the month.

To subscribe, visit www.drilleronline.com and click on the newsletter subscription link to the right of the page.

Arsenic Answers

The American Ground Water Trust recently released a 24-page guide titled, “Arsenic and Ground Water: Questions, Answers and Solutions.” This educational pamphlet explains arsenic's geologic origins and its occurrence in ground water. It includes an historical review of the uses of arsenic and a discussion of health issues. The pamphlet outlines the various methods and equipment that are available to remove or reduce arsenic levels. The information principally is targeted to well owners who don't have the time to navigate the vast amounts of arsenic information that exists online and who are seeking an objective, non-commercial and readable one-stop information source about arsenic in ground water. It would make a good addition to any water professional's marketing kit. For additional information, visit www.agwt.org. ND