Frost & Sullivan Lauds VWS Envig for its Outstanding Leadership of the South African Water and Wastewater Services Market

The 2008 Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award in the South African Water and Wastewater Services Market is presented to VWS Envig (Pty) Ltd (VWS Envig) for achieving the highest market share in the water and wastewater services market. VWS Envig has achieved and maintained its leadership position through rapid growth and market penetration, successful project implementation, good customer relationship and having an adequate resource base.

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"The ability to successfully implement projects has been a major challenge in this market and VWS Envig's capacity to overcome this challenge, as evident in its Durban Water Recycling Project and the turnkey Sapref project in Durban, has given it an edge over its competitors, contributing to its position as market leader," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Derrick Chikanga.

The Durban Water Recycling project is now used as a benchmark at the international level because it is one of the few plants in the world that has a domestic effluent plant followed directly by a potable water plant. The plant has been a recipient of numerous awards including the Pit Fossil and Civil Engineering Excellence Awards.

"The project has assisted in reducing the amount of wastewater that is released into the Indian Ocean by approximately 30 per cent," adds Derrick Chikanga. "Further, this project has helped alleviate pressure on municipal water supplies and water allocation decisions."

VWS Envig's outstanding success in South Africa's water and wastewater services market has been characterised by high growth and market penetration. The company has emphasised the importance of business development, reflected in its revenue figures over the last 6 years. Its turnover, in this short period, has grown from an initial ZAR 50 million to ZAR 500 million.

VWS Envig offers total water and wastewater solutions to a variety of industrial end-users in South and sub-Saharan Africa, including Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya and Mauritius. Service offerings range from design and build to solutions and associated services.

The company's industrial client base includes the automotive, energy, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, pulp and paper, mining, steel, oil and gas sectors. Its range of activities varies from turnkey contracting for small and large projects, to specialised services and specialty chemicals for the industrial and municipal markets.

"The ability to achieve high levels of customer relationship management has been critical to VWS Envig's market leadership," remarks Chikanga. "For instance, after only 2 years of a twenty year contract, clients have chosen to expand VWS Envig's services to include additional operations. Mondi Paper (Pty) Ltd and Sapref (Shell and BP refineries) are two such examples of contracts that were extended."

VWS Envig enjoys the backing of its global parent, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, and this helps it keep abreast with the latest trends and developments in the industry. This has been a crucial success factor for the company's South African operations.

"VWS Envig's well developed client base demonstrates the fact that it has the necessary technology to meet its clients' varied needs," comments Chikanga. "For instance, in November 2007, the company won two projects to design, supply and commission a sodium sulphate crystalliser and a nickel sulphate evaporator plant for Anglo Platinum while, at the same time, bagging a contract to supply a chloride removals plant to Mondi Business Paper's Richard's Bay Mill."

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership is given to the company that has exhibited market share leadership through the implementation of market strategy. The recipient has displayed excellence in all areas of the market leadership process, including the identification of market challenges, drivers and restraints, as well as strategy development and methods of addressing these market dynamics. Furthermore, the Award recipient has continually demonstrated solutions for monitoring market changes and for implementing superior market strategies. By utilising these strategies for success, the company has established itself as the market share leader in its respective industry.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About VWS Envig (Pty) Ltd

VWS Envig (Pty) Ltd is one of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) business units. VWS, subsidiary of Veolia Water, is a leading design & build company and a specialized provider of technological solutions in water treatment. With over 8,900 employees in 57 countries, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies recorded revenue of euro 2.5 billion in 2008.

Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services. Specialized in outsourcing services for municipal authorities, as well as industrial and service companies, Veolia Water serves 139 million people worldwide. With 93,400 employees, its 2008 revenues amounted to euro 12.6 billion.

www.veoliawaterst.com

About Frost & Sullivan

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Contact Frost & Sullivan:

Ciara Jamie Connolly, Senior Events & Promotions Executive/ EMEA, Best Practices, Frost & Sullivan, ciara.connolly@frost.com P: 0044 (0) 207.915.7868, F: 0044 (0) 207.730.3343, www.frost.com

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