ELGA LabWater is the laboratory water brand name of
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies. ELGA manufactures, supplies and services
water purification systems for use in general,
R&D, healthcare and
clinical laboratories. Its offices and distributors are located in more than 60 countries.
History
ELGA Products Limited was founded in 1937 by Walter Lorch to manufacture domestic electrical appliances, but moved into water purification to overcome the problem of
limescale deposits in
steam iron
A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press clothes to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in operating temperature from between to . ...
s. It developed a small cartridge-type deionizer to purify the water. ELGA collaborated with the
London School of Pharmacy to develop products aimed at the hospital market, laboratories and general industry. A manufacturing unit was set up in 1959 in
Lane End, Buckinghamshire
Lane End is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is just south of the M40 from High Wycombe, about west of Booker. The village is twinned with Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron in France.
The village is situated in the Chilterns, ...
, UK. During the 1960s ELGA became a global supplier of water purification systems.
ELGA Group PLC was incorporated in 1984 and became part of Protean PLC in 1992. Protean PLC was acquired by
Culligan Water Technologies (Northbrook Illinois) in 1997. Culligan was acquired by
U.S. Filter (Palm Springs, California) in 1998. ELGA became part of USF Limited in 1999. U.S. Filter was acquired by
Vivendi S.A. (Paris, France) in 2000. ELGA became part of Vivendi Water Systems Limited and then Veolia Water Systems LTD, part of the Veolia Group, in 2003. ELGA has added North American and Asian manufacturing operations to the original UK site.
Lorch Foundation
ELGA founded the Lorch Foundation in 1979, which subsequently established the School of Water Sciences. Now known as the Cranfield Water Science Institute at
Cranfield University
, mottoeng = After clouds light
, established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name)
, type = Public research uni ...
, England, it aims to support, encourage and maintain the studies of students interested in water treatment sciences. The aim of the Foundation is to "fund the furtherance of scientific research and education to the benefit of water treatment technology".
Products
ELGA produces water purification systems which provide purified water and ultrapure water for applications in research and analytical laboratories, medical and clinical facilities. It incorporates in its water purifiers a combination of purification technologies, e.g.
reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...
, electronics-grade
ion-exchange resins,
microfiltration,
ultrafiltration,
degassing, ultraviolet
photooxidation
In polymer chemistry photo-oxidation (sometimes: oxidative photodegradation) is the degradation of a polymer surface due to the combined action of light and oxygen. It is the most significant factor in the weathering of plastics. Photo-oxidatio ...
and
electrodeionization
Electrodeionization (EDI) is a water treatment technology that utilizes electricity, ion exchange membranes, and resin to deionize water and separate dissolved ions (impurities) from it. It differs from other water purification technologies in ...
. Products are designed to minimize impact on the environment at all stages - manufacture, in-service and at end of life.
Awards
In 2004 the ELGA CENTRA received an Industrial Product Design Award; in 2009 the PURELAB Ultra was the Readers Choice Laboratory Equipment winner: the ELGA PURELAB flex received the Instrument Business Outlook (IBO) Silver design award for Laboratory Equipment Industrial Design in 2009, the Aquatech China Innovation Gold Award in 2010 and the Industrial Product Design Gold Award, the Materials Innovation Gold Award, the dBA Design Effectiveness and the Red Dot Award in 2011; in 2011 the ELGA PURELAB Pulse also received the Scientists Choice Award.
See also
*
Veolia Environnement
Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French Multinational corporation, transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water resource management, water m ...
References
{{reflist
Veolia
Laboratory equipment manufacturers
1937 establishments in England