1981
Cooperation with the Bremen Institute of Hygiene
In the early 1980s, a milestone for public acceptance of UV water disinfection of drinking water was the start of a cooperation with the Institute of Hygiene at the Hanseatic City of Bremen. At the time, Dr. Gängel, the director of the Institute, was conducting experiments on disinfection of the water supply in the administration and laboratory building. In the past, routine investigations of the water supply had repeatedly established that the bacteria count was too high. These biological impurities were effectively removed eliminated by the use of UV systems.
1988
First WEDECO ozone electrode
In 1988, WEDECO began working with ozone. It developed the unique, patented small diameter hexagonal ozone electrode, the core of which consisted of a six-sided metal rod set in a quartz borosilicate glass dielectric tube. This ozone electrode was first fitted in small ozone systems. One of the first systems for treating drinking water for the Ostheim, Germany community produced 150g/h of ozone from atmospheric oxygen.
First current-controlled frequency converter
WEDECO ozone systems are controlled today at frequencies of up to 1,000 Hertz. At the time, converters available on the market could not generate this frequency, so WEDECO had to develop its own converter.
First BMFT Special Research Program
UV disinfection of drinking water was already well established in some European countries, though not in Germany. The Norwegian city Stord installed a WEDECO UV system for disinfecting drinking water in 1977. In Germany, however, there was little acceptance of this new technology. As a result of many submissions and discussions initiated by prominent research institutes and UV equipment manufacturers, the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) launched an ambitious network research program in 1988. The objective of this was to systematically research the yet unanswered questions regarding the use of UV light to disinfect drinking water. Presided over by Professor Heinz Bernhardt, this was the genesis of the First BMFT Research Project: "Investigation into the hygienic safety of drinking water disinfection with UV radiation”. Not all the issues were dealt with conclusively, and so it was agreed to continue the investigations in a second BMFT project.
1989 - 1991
International expansion
Between 1989 and 1991, WEDECO established subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, France and Switzerland to tap these markets with their own sales and service personnel.
