Adding Value by Design

Through generations of innovation, product development engineers and technologists have improved the effectiveness of the process, reduced the size of the filtration systems and minimized costs in production.

GE Water & Process Technologies is poised to take UF membrane filtration technology to the next level with its global reach and expertise in R&D, sales and marketing. And the timing is right. The process is now widely recognized as superior to the older technology of sand filtration because UF uses fewer chemicals, takes up a smaller footprint and treats water at a more rigorous standard. The system is also more reliable in terms of maintenance and testing.

Brand management and industrial design
While the proprietary manufacturing process used to produce the UF membranes is a closely held secret, the company has used its marketing savvy and design flair to celebrate its breakthroughs in public. The intrinsic value of the ZeeWeed membranes is reflected in their brand names and in their outer look and feel.

For example, the ZeeWeed name was introduced in 1988 to commercialize the first membrane bioreactor, which integrated membrane filtration with biologic degradation for wastewater treatment. There is an emotional appeal to the ZeeWeed name and, beyond science fact, an aura of science fiction. When the company launched its packaged drinking water treatment plant, it was branded as the Z-Box. The bioreactor unit that treats wastewater is called the Mod-Box. And the home water filtration system, launched in 2002, was also given a consumer-friendly name: Homespring.

In addition to its marketing, the company also hired Miles Keller, a well-known Toronto industrial designer, who had a strong track record in furniture design rather than advanced technology products. But, as he was told by a manager, “We can get hundreds of CAD jockeys. We’re not hiring you for your computer skills; we’re hiring you for your thinking.”

Keller’s thinking was in fact different but complementary to that of the design engineers, so the relationship worked out. “The creative contribution of the designer may represent only 10 percent of the work involved in the development of a new or improved product,” he says, “but that contribution can make all the difference.”

He has worked full time with the engineering department on three major projects. He is most proud of his contribution to the redesign of the self-contained, packaged water filtration system the company has branded as the Z-Box. The pre-engineered product, which can be customized and then shipped on a skid, is used to add capacity to existing systems or to set up stand-alone filtration for diverse clients including hospitals, hotels, ski resorts and golf courses. The project he worked on was a conceptual redesign of an existing modular system.