Proffico is a family owned, Polish company, with over 10 years’ market experience specializing in water and wastewater treatment technologies. Through close cooperation with the clients the company provides complex technological solutions concerning water purification and water disinfection.
Interview with Cezary Rokicki, Owner & CEO and Artur Woźniakowski, Public Sector and International Cooperation Director at Proffico.
What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Cezary Rokicki & Artur Woźniakowski: We have three main areas of activity. First, we design and construct water treatment station’s. These water stations can be built in a classical building or we can deliver on site, in relatively short time, a water treatment station assembled in containers with water production capacity of up to 90m3/h. Secondly, Proffico designs and manufactures under its own brand high quality devices for the water and wastewater industry such as – static mixers, air distribution units, Profgenerator – chlorine dioxide generators for water and wastewater disinfection, Zorro – mobile hypochlorite disinfection devices for water and wastewater networks, Aquapack – water packaging machines for crisis management. All of these products have been designed by Proffico and are manufactured in our production facility. We are also an exclusive distributor on the Polish market of Bucher Unipektin AG piston presses for dewatering wastewater sludge and Hydrograv Adapt an innovative inlet regulatory system for secondary wastewater clarifiers. The long-term cooperation with these companies is sound proof of the technological competencies of our company. Finally, we have a team of service technicians that provide repair and maintenance services for our clients.
What’s the news about new products/services?
C.R & A.W: We are continuously working on upgrading and widening our range of products and services. In our day-to-day activities we are open to up-to-date best available technics and solutions that are next built in or deployed into our products and services.
Currently we are finalizing our works on a web application called SUW Manager that will allow to monitor various parameters concerning the operation of a water treatment station. Through continuous monitoring and trend analysis we and our clients will be able in advance to pin point upcoming problems and optimize in technological and economic sense (lower costs) the operations of these facilities.
We are also working on descaling our containerized water treatment station so that it could fit onto a small trailer and that it could treat raw water from various sources. The current geopolitical situation, climate change and natural disasters that have been accruing in Poland and Europe set the need for such solution.
What are the ranges of products/services?
C.R & A.W: As mentioned above, Proffico offers solutions in the area of water purification, wastewater treatment, sludge dewatering and water disinfection.
What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
C.R & A.W: We mainly cooperate with two groups of clients. On one hand, there are the water utility companies that in the last couple of years had a setback regarding new investments. This was due to the fact, that funding from the state and EU sources has been deferred and the tariffs for water delivery and wastewater reception have been stiff while the cost of labor, materials, chemicals, energy and capital funding have gone up vastly. Currently we see a steady positive shift in this area, which should lead to new investment project for these companies in the upcoming years.
The second group of customers that we are working with, are the local municipalities (communes) that according to the Polish law are responsible for water and wastewater treatment. In the last years, the Polish central government has devoted funding for smaller communes, that lead to new projects concerning building new or refurbishing old water stations. Proffico has been very active in working with the local municipalities and as an outcome we have eleven construction projects in the construction phase.
In general, we see in the next 2 – 3 years positive trends concerning the Polish water and waste treatment market on which we would like to capitalize.
What can you tell us about market trends?
C.R & A.W: The new Water Directive passed by the EU Parliament sets new, more rigors goals concerning the quality of treated water and wastewater. To fulfil these novel requirements the water and wastewater companies (or communes) will have to implement new technologies or upgrade current ones. Of course, this situation is a big opportunity for our company to which we are product/ solution wise and organizationally prepared. The key factor, as it’s in these situations, is the question of the source of financing of these initiatives. As mentioned before, the last couple of years have been a set back in many investments of the water companies, thus adding new projects will be a hassle.
Also, the current geopolitical situation in Europe, with the war in Ukraine, sets new challenges for the water companies concerning water quality safety and continuity of water delivery in the case of war activity and crisis situations. A new bill passed by the Polish Parliament will set new requirements concerning water availability, thus obliging the above, to store water and control the crucial water infrastructure. From our product side, we have solutions – containerized water treatment plant, Aquapack water packing machine, stationary and mobile disinfection units that can be a remedy for this new situation. We do hope that the situation will get better, but everybody has to be prepared for the worst.
What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
C.R & A.W: For sure, one of our most innovative product is the fully automated containerized water treatment plant. Currently we are the only company in Poland with such a solution. Depending on the quality of raw water and the needed water production capacity, we are able to deliver to the clients site(location), a preassembled water station that fulfills all the requirements concerning the quality of water for drinking/public use. The standard set consists of four sea containers allowing for the treatment of up to 30 m3/h in case of a single stage treatment process and 15 m3/h in case of a two stage process. By adding additional two pressure filter containers we are able to increase the water production capacity up to 90 m3/h delivering on a daily bases 2000 m3 of clean water to a public of 20.000 residents. The four basic container set consist of: (1) water aeriation system container, (2) pressure filter system container, (3) filter backwash container, (4) pumping set and disinfection container. To achieve the highest purification efficiency an additional container with an ultrafiltration system can be added. The quality of the used materials and applied technology allows for 30 to 40 years of undisturbed use. The water treatment station is fully automatic, thus does not require man operation. Weather and temperature conditions are not an issue, as the containers are isolated and a heating system is implemented.
In many cases this solution is a game changer. The time to set up a containerized water treatment station is far shorter (3-5 times) than building a new water station in a classical building. The documentation and legal requirements are minimal, less time consuming and the process of assembling the containerized water station can be done parallel with obtaining the legal requirements, thus substantially shortening the investment period.
What must be outlined, and this is backed by our recurrent experience, the cost to set up a containerized water station is significantly lower than in the case when we have to erect a new building or refurbish an existing building. The investor does not have to spend money on design documentation, wages and additional costs for the craftsman sent to the construction site (transportation, lodging, etc). The investment process is “clean” and less waste generating. In general, the investor is spending money on the essentials – the water treatment technology, not on the packing – the bricks, walls, roofing, tiles, etc.
A different area of use of the containerized water treatment station, thanks to its mobility, is a situation, when the client has to temporary close down its existing facility because of ongoing construction or other issues (for example extraordinary crisis situation), at the same time needing to continuously treat and deliver water to the public. In this case a containerized water station can be a remedy. In our operations, when refurbishing an existing water station for our client, we use our company station for such purpose.
This solution can be applied, delivered and set up practically anywhere. We just need a source of water.
What estimations do you have for the rest of 2024?
C.R & A.W: This year was a breakthrough year for Proffico. We have enlarged and strengthened our team by recruiting new employees. We finished constructing our new office building. Currently we have eleven construction projects in operation which should be completed next year. Our Proffico brand name has been strengthened and today is perceived by the water and wastewater market as one of the leading high quality, technology sound company in Poland. We are optimistically looking into 2025 and beyond.