| |
© 2012 Katadyn Products Inc. |
|
 Editorial
|
|
Dear Katadyn Friends
As you might already know, Katadyn is expanding by acquiring a majority stake in Aquafides, a Swiss company offering water treatment products on the basis of UV sterilization. This enables Katadyn to diversify its business field into the area of industrial and communal water treatment using UV technologies, in which it was itself active up to 1999.
You are also likely to remember that Katadyn is helping the inhabitants of the Chiapas region in southeastern Mexico. We are supplying Drip Filters to reduce the number of children who are dying from diarrhea due to contaminated drinking water or contracting trachoma, a much-feared eye disease. Now we have launched two additional pilot projects of this kind in the northern part of Thailand, having teamed up with the Rotary Club for this purpose. Sixty families have been given a Drip Filter to treat their water. The filters are very popular with the families. A mere two months after their introduction, the incidence of diarrhea disorders has all but vanished, and the health of the population has improved substantially. Read more about the project in the present Newsletter.
It is with some pride that we look back on the good year that we had in 2009. Orders for Katadyn, Optimus, and Trek’n Eat outdoor products have developed encouragingly. We have found that high-quality products are in high demand especially in economically adverse times. As the market leader in the field of individual water treatment gear, we are aware of our responsibility and will continue to invest in the targeted development of innovative solutions.
We extend our warmest thanks to you for your highly appreciated collaboration and the valuable inputs that we receive time and again in our mutual exchanges. We wish you and your families a merry festive season and a happy New Year.
Trix Ammann
CEO
|
Did you know? |
Katadyn Holding AG acquires a stake in AQUAFIDES
|
|
Katadyn is expanding by acquiring a majority stake in the Aquafides company in Switzerland and Germany. Katadyn is thereby diversifying its business to the area of industrial and communal water treatment.
Aquafides was set up in 2007. Its portfolio comprises products for industrial and communal water treatment on the basis of UV sterilization. Additional areas of business include spare parts supplies and services for its own new and existing installations and for third-party equipment. Aquafides customers are mainly small communities and municipalities for which the required installations are often evaluated together with consulting planners and engineers.
Katadyn was itself active in the field of industrial and communal water treatment based on UV technologies up to the year 1999. The new-generation systems developed by Aquafides and the efforts it has invested in building the business prompted Katadyn to return to this activity.
In Switzerland, Aquafides is soundly established for historical reasons: Most Aquafides employees used to work for the Katadyn Group up to 1999. Now the global sales network of Katadyn Produkte AG is to be more intensely utilized to improve its access to international markets, and a partner network is being set up. Please contact us if you have identified any potential in your market and would be interested in sales activities.
|
Marketing & Events |
Katadyn at the METS 2009 in Amsterdam
|
|
As in years before, Katadyn was also present with a booth at this year’s METS, the largest international trade show for marine gear and accessories for pleasure boating and small-scale professional navigation. The METS was held in Amsterdam from November 17 – 19, with roughly 2,000 exhibitors from 90 different countries attending. Some 20,000 visitors from all corners of the world flocked to the site to find out about the latest developments in the field of seafaring. For Katadyn, the trade fair was a success also this year. Our booth was situated just next to the Swedish pavilion. This proved to be a great benefit especially for Staffan Rönn, sales manager for the Scandinavian countries, since he was able to draw the attention of many visitors from the Nordic countries to our products. Our desalinators met with keen interest throughout, and we booked a number of orders in the course of the exhibition.
|
Hauser Info Days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
|
|
The German expert for trekking holidays, Hauser Exkursionen, invited travel enthusiasts to a roadshow in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on November 14-15. In five halls, some 1600 visitors were presented the world’s most beautiful hiking and trekking destinations. On Saturday evening, the participants gathered for a sociable evening with cabaret shows. The roadshow was also a full success for Katadyn Germany, who was present with their own stand. Our products from Katadyn, Optimus, Trek’n Eat und Care Plus sparked a great deal of interest.
|
Markets & Customers |
Thailand: Drip Filters for fighting diarrhea
|
|
The Rotary District 2000/Switzerland has launched two pilot projects involving Katadyn Ceramic Gravity Drip Filters in collaboration with the Thai Rotary Clubs of Taksin Pattaya, Eastern Seabord, and Thong Pha Phum. The village of Ban Bo Ong, a scattered settlement of about 400 households, was chosen for the first project. It is located near the Khao Laem Dam some 110 kilometers northwest of Bangkok on the Burmese border. The lake, which was flooded in the eighties, cuts off the village from civilization. There are no access roads, no electric power, and no communications. The villagers get their water from the lake or collect rainwater in drums. Both sources are highly contaminated. The poorest 60 families have now been given one filter each. The second project involves the village of Wang Hin some 90 kilometers northeast of Udon Thani in the direction of the Laotian border. About 300 families live in Wang Hin. Many children suffer from diarrhea disorders. In Wang Hin, too, the 60 poorest families have received one Drip Filter each in this initial phase.
As it is extremely easy to use the Drip Filter, acceptance was high and the filters were immediately put to use following a short training session. The Katadyn Drip Filter consists of two plastic pouches and three easy-to-clean ceramic filter cartridges. You fill the top container with the contaminated water, which will then trickle under the force of gravity across the filter and into the bottom container, thus being cleaned. A tap is installed on the bottom container to withdraw the pure water, allowing a family to drink clean water whenever required and to also use it for personal hygiene. Some two months after going into service, the Rotary Clubs involved found that the filters were highly popular with the families and were indeed being used. The incidence of diarrhea has been all but stopped, and the population’s health has improved substantially. In view of this outcome, the Thai Rotary Clubs plan to equip as many as 60 additional villages with ceramic gravity filters.
|
Mexico: application of the Katadyn Drip Filter yields sustainable results
|
|
The fight against blinding and diarrhea caused by contaminated drinking water in the Chiapas region in southeastern Mexico is yielding clear results. In early December, Katadyn head of sales Toni Brandi traveled to our partner Bioderivados in Mexico City. Together, they visited various villages in the remote region of Chiapas, where the Drip Filters have been in use for a little more than two years and a half. The acceptance of the filters is high, and the people have grasped the significance of clean drinking and service water for their health. It is therefore not surprising that they handle the filters with great care. The results are indisputable: Over the past two years and a half, diarrhea and other disorders attributable to contaminated water have decreased markedly. The Mexican government sees this success and intends to continue to invest together with Bioderivados and Katadyn in the health of the population. Plans also exist to use the Drip Filters in schools.
|
Best rating for Katadyn Mini and Micropur Forte in a test conducted by the Czech Travelers’ Club
|
|
The Czech club of travelers (CCT) awarded the Katadyn Mini filter and the Micropur Forte tablets with its "Recommended" seal. During a two-month practical test by the club's chairman, the famous Czech globetrotter Petr Jahoda, the filter performed extremely well and together with the Micropur MF 1T tablets was recognized to be a very useful and efficient equipment for various groups of tourists. The results of the tests are presented on CCT's website (Czech only).
|
Katadyn presentation for Czech tour guides
|
|
In November, our Czech partner transAlpinus s.r.o. instructed approximately 50 tour guides working for the Adventura Travel Agency on how to use Katadyn products. The event took place during the annual team building meeting of Adventura in the Czech Giant Mountains. Adventura is one of the leading Czech travel agencies for activity holidays, with twenty years of experience. They sell tailor-made trips for little groups to destinations that offer adventure and a genuine local experience. The presentation of the Katadyn water treatment products triggered a vivid discussion about the importance of safe drinking water for globetrotters. Our Czech partner is convinced that this awareness will be passed on by the Adventura tour guides to their clients.
|
Mike Horn: Pangaea Expedition 2008-2012
|
|  | | the young explorers visit the wind cave in Munu-Borneo,Malaysia |
| |
The South African adventurer Mike Horn has been riding the waves across the globe with his sailing boat “Pangaea” since 2008. By 2012, he wants to have covered 100,000 kilometers. The goal of his expedition is to cross the seven continents of our planet with all their elements such as deserts, oceans, and polar landscapes without using any extraneous power. As companions on the various laps of his trip, Mike Horn seeks young adventurers to which he would like to pass on his passion for discovering our planet. The philosophy of the Pangaea expedition is therefore to “enhance respect for the environment and active protection of the wealth of this planet in order to protect it for future generations.” These days, the election procedure for the next research expedition will be held, with an emphasis on India. On board the Pangaea is a Katadyn PowerSurvivor 160E plus a PowerSurvivor 40E, which serves as a backup desalinator. Several portable water filters of the model Katadyn Pocket supply the young discoverers with safe drinking water wherever they may be. For example in Borneo, the destination of the last lap of the Pangaea expedition.
|
TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition
|
|
The Swiss couple Dario and Sabine Schwörer have been journeying since 2002. Traveling on foot, by sailing boat, or by bicycle, they have embarked on their TOPtoTOP climate expedition across the seven seas to the seven highest summits of our planet. Their goal is to fill young people with enthusiasm for going easy on Nature. Together with volunteers, the two adventurers organize litter clearing campaigns on beaches and mountains and visit schoolchildren the world over to discuss environmental pollution. They are always accompanied by their three children. Katadyn is supporting the expedition with a Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40E for the passages across waters and a Katadyn Combi water filter for ensuring water supplies on land. At the start of November, the “Pachamama” – as the sailing boat of the Schwörers is called – reached the port of Singapore. Together with the local Technical University, Katadyn Singapore organized an information event in mid-November, which over 200 persons attended. Since then, the Pachamama has left Singapore again and is heading for Calcutta. We wish the Schwörer family all the best for their onward journey!
|
Arved Fuchs North Pole Expedition in Northwest Greenland
|
|
In mid-year, the German polar researcher and book author Arved Fuchs embarked on a new adventure: Traveling on a sailing ship named “Dagmar Aaen”, he set off for the Arctic. His route will take him from the North Pole to the northwestern coast of Greenland and onward to Canada. On his way, he will not only gather scientific data on climate change, but also explore a dramatic historical expedition, for the receding pack ice caused innumerable earlier expeditions to fail on this route. Despite the still difficult ice conditions, Arved Fuchs reached the first destination of his expedition, Pim Island. There he and his team found traces of the historical Greely expedition of 1881-84. Katadyn Germany has been supporting the Arved Fuchs expeditions for many years with Trek’n Eat products. On bord the „Dagmar Aaen“ is also a Katadyn Power Survivor 160E.
|
Successful end of the Namib Desert expedition
|
|
In early October, a team of twelve British and two Italian adventurers set off for a daring twenty-day expedition along the Namib Desert coast in Namibia. Traveling on foot, they covered the 400 kilometers between Lüderitzbucht and Walvis Bay without relying on any outside supplies. For covering their daily drinking water needs, they used four Katadyn Survivor 35 units. The time and effort required to produce 70 liters of drinking water daily with these manual desalinators was considerable: Each day, the expedition members were kept busy for four hours pumping sea water through the membrane. This is essential in order to survive in this barren coastal desert region, where each drop of drinking water is suddenly found to be worth gold. The Katadyn Survivor 35 is the most efficient desalinator for emergencies. It is also used as a survival tool by numerous armed forces across the world.
|
Georg Sichelschmidt relies on Peronin on his Patagonia expedition
|
|
Also in early October 2009, Georg Sichelschmidt and his partner Olaf Rieck flew to Patagonia with the intention to cross the Patagonian inland ice plain from its northernmost to its southernmost point. Twenty days and 160 kilometers later, after covering this terrain on skis and on some stretches by parawing, they reached their destination in El Chaltén in southern Argentina. On their trip, the two adventurers lived solely on the supplies that they had taken along. In the mornings, they would consume a portion of Peronin with muesli. The main meals in the evening consisted of the tasty freeze-dried menus of Trek’n Eat. To avoid suddenly losing their strength, the two also relied on various energy bars. Georg Sichelschmidt’s favorites were Oatsnacks bars marketed by Katadyn Germany.
|
Jasemba Expedition 2009
|
|
The Jasemba, officially known as Pasang Lhamu Chuli, is a 7350-meter-high mountain on the Chinese-Nepalese border in the Himalayas. A Japanese expedition was the first to reach the summit, on October 12, 1986. All four ascents up to now led through the less steep northern face or the southern snow ridges. The goal of three young alpinists from Zermatt in Switzerland was to reach the top through the as yet untouched southern face. They placed the emphasis of their venture on the mountaineering challenge, their aim being to climb the mountain in the Alpine style without oxygen, fixed ropes, or porters. On October 1, alpinists Simon Anthamatten (26), Samuel Anthamatten (23), and Michael Lerjen (24) landed in Kathmandu. A few days later, they set up their base camp at an altitude of 5200 meters. Before starting their ascent to the Jasemba, the team spent their time making small acclimatization tours. On October 29, 2009, the three mountaineers reached the top of the Jasemba through the southern face, which no one had climbed before. Congratulations! Katadyn supported the climbers with Optimus outdoor stoves and cooking utensils, a Katadyn Camp water filter, Micropur, freeze-dried Trek’n Eat meals, and the liquid food Peronin.
|
Biking 10,000 kilometers from San Francisco to Montevideo, Uruguay
|
|
Who has never dreamed of enjoying a timeout to explore our planet? Claudia and Alexandre from Switzerland made this dream come true. In one year, they traveled on their trekking bikes from San Francisco to Montevideo in Uruguay. For their water supplies on their trip, they took along a Katadyn Pocket Filter. The two adventurers told us that without their Pocket Filter they would have been forced more than once to return to their starting point. They used the filter even while still in California, after heavy rainfall had made the water on a camping site unfit for consumption. The filter also proved to be indispensable on the Island of Ometepe in the “Lago de Nicaragua.” We thank Claudia and Alexandre for their feedback and have the pleasure of referring readers interested in their exciting travel experiences to their website.
|
Swiss triathlete and Peronin user qualifies for Ironman Hawaii 2010
|
|
At the start of November, the Swiss triathlete Erich Kohler successfully qualified at the Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach for the Ironman Hawaii 2010. We congratulate Erich on this achievement! For years, Erich has been using our liquid food Peronin in contests. Peronin supplies fast and lasting energy and is especially suitable when it comes to delivering top performance. By the way: Peronin will be available from 2010 also with the new “Orange” flavor.
|
Katadyn in-house News |
Company closed from December 25 through January 3 From December 25 through January 3, 2009, the production plant and the offices of Katadyn Produkte AG in Wallisellen, Switzerland, will be closed. Our staff will spend this time enjoying their well-earned vacations – many of them, so we hope, under bright and sunny winter skies in the snow-covered Swiss Alps. On Monday, January 4, 2010, we will be back to serve you again, and we look forward to a brilliant start into the 2010. |
Katadyn Trade Show Calendar 2009
· Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City, USA (January 21 to 25, 2010)
· Boot Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany (January 23 to 31, 2010)
· "Reisen" Trade Show in Hamburg, Germany (February 10 to 14, 2010)
· Eurosatory in Paris, France (June 14 to 18, 2010)
· Outdoor Trade Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany (July 15 to 18, 2010)
· Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City, USA (August 3 to 6, 2010)
· Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf, Germany (August 28 to September 5, 2010)
· Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, Germany (Sepbember 1 to 4, 2010)
· METS in Amsterdam, Netherlands (November 16 to 18, 2010) |
|
|
|
