History
The success of Trojan Technologies is a story of vision, ingenuity, and unwavering confidence in the tremendous potential of ultraviolet (UV) light as a technology to safeguard the world's water.
It began in 1976, when a young entrepreneur named Hank Vander Laan bought Trojan Metal Works - a small company located in London, Ontario, Canada. Although fabricating metal toolboxes was the company's mainstay, what caught Vander Laan's eye was the patent it held on a small, UV treatment unit for homeowners to purify their drinking water. He immediately recognized the benefits of ultraviolet (UV) light as a safer, more environmentally friendly alternative to chemical water treatment. Based on a vision of transforming the fledgling metal fabricator into a dynamic global company capable of solving complex water problems, Trojan Technologies was born.
Early on, the company made a key decision to devote the majority of its limited resources to large municipal applications of its UV technology, rather than systems for the consumer market. This shift in focus was instrumental to Trojan establishing a solid foundation. Development commenced on a commercially-viable UV disinfection system for municipal wastewater treatment, and the company was rewarded with its first system installation in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada. Fueled by this early success, Trojan accelerated its investment in research and in building a strong team.
Through the 1980's and 1990's, the company grew, rapidly. Trojan pioneered many innovations that revolutionized municipal wastewater treatment and, over the course of two decades, installed thousands of systems in over 25 countries. By 1993, Trojan had become the world leader in UV wastewater disinfection. To achieve the next level of growth, the company would need access to more capital. That same year, Trojan Technologies launched a successful, initial public offering (IPO) and became a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TUV.
This infusion of investor capital allowed Trojan to expand its facilities to keep up with demand and broaden its product offering with the introduction of the highly successful TrojanUV4000™- a UV treatment system designed to handle extremely high volumes of wastewater. Later public offerings permitted the company to diversify beyond wastewater. With the help of a strong senior management team, that grew to include Marvin DeVries, Doug Alexander, and Ron Braun, Vander Laan steered the organization into new markets.
The company sought to mirror its success in municipal wastewater with the application of ultraviolet light for large-scale drinking water disinfection. Drawing on the significant scientific and engineering expertise within Trojan, the company developed and launched the revolutionary TrojanUVSwift™ municipal drinking water system. It immediately caught the attention of the industry. By 2002, Trojan had won important contracts to supply equipment to the three largest UV drinking water plants in the world - Seattle, Washington; Victoria, British Columbia; and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
A series of strategic acquisitions allowed the company to continue its diversification into other important markets.
Recognizing the tremendous potential of the emerging field of environmental contaminant treatment (ECT), Trojan purchased Advanced Ultraviolet Solutions of Tucson, Arizona, in 2001. This gave Trojan access to a process called UV-oxidation - an advanced water treatment method that eliminates harmful microorganisms, such as E.coli, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, as well as chemical contaminants, including pesticides and herbicides. Within three years, Trojan had sold over $40 million worth of ECT systems for removing toxic chemicals from water and established itself as the definitive market leader.
Trojan made a further investment in the ECT sector with the January, 2004, purchase of a controlling interest in US Peroxide, LLC of Laguna Niguel, California. Acquiring North America's largest direct supplier of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for environmental service applications allowed Trojan to expand its range of solutions for water and wastewater treatment.
Trojan enjoyed similar success in the more mature industrial/commercial sector. Acquisitions and alliances in Europe and North America helped broaden the company's distribution, product line, and capabilities in this fast-paced market. From 2001 to 2003 - a period of relatively soft growth for the sector - Trojan had expanded its industrial sales by almost 350%. In March, 2004, Trojan expanded its industrial product line with the introduction of the TrojanUVLogic™Pharma, an innovative product line designed in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for life science applications.
Since December 2005, the Aquafine Corporation has operated as a strategic business unit of Trojan Technologies. Aquafine Corporation, headquartered in Valencia, California, was established in 1949, and has been a leader and product innovator for the industrial and commercial market sectors for over 55 years. All industrial and commercial processes from sales to order fulfillment, product engineering to manufacturing, shipment to services (including aftermarket) will in time fully reside within Aquafine.
Today, under the leadership of Marvin DeVries, Trojan Technologies continues its growth and success by building water confidence around the world. With annual sales well in excess of $100 million, the company has emerged as a leading player in its five focus markets - municipal drinking water, municipal wastewater, environmental contaminant treatment, industrial/commercial applications, and consumer water purification systems. In fact, every day, Trojan systems treat over 17 billion gallons of water through the application of safe, environmentally friendly treatment technologies. .
We've only just begun.