Xylem, is a world leader in the design, manufacturing, and application of highly
engineered technologies for the water industry. We are a leading equipment and
service provider for water and wastewater applications with a broad portfolio
of products and services addressing the full cycle of water, from collection,
distribution and use to the return of water to the environment. We have leading
market positions among equipment and service providers in the core application
areas of the water equipment industry: transport, treatment, test, building
services, industrial processing and irrigation. Our Company’s brands,
such as Bell & Gossett and Flygt, are well known throughout the industry
and have served the water market for many years.
We serve a global customer base across diverse end markets while offering localized
expertise. We sell our products in approximately 150 countries through a balanced
distribution network consisting of our direct sales force and independent channel
partners.
The water industry supply chain is comprised of Equipment and Services companies,
Design and Build service providers, and Utilities. Equipment and Service providers
serve distinct customer types. The Utilities supply water through an infrastructure
network. Supply chain companies provide single, or sometimes combined, functions
from equipment manufacturing and services to facility design (engineering, procurement
and construction, or “EPC” firms) to plant operations (Utilities).
The Utilities and EPC customers are looking for technology and application expertise
from their Equipment and Services providers to address trends such as rising
pollution, stricter regulations, and the increased outsourcing of process knowledge.
The end users of water consist of a wide array of entities, including farms,
mines, power plants, industrial facilities and residential homes. These customers
are predominately served through specialized distributors and original equipment
manufacturers (“OEMs”).
Our business focuses on the beginning of the supply chain by providing technology-intensive
equipment and services. We sell our equipment and services via direct and indirect
channels that serve the needs of each customer type. On the utility side, we
provide the majority of our sales direct to customers with strong application
expertise, with the remaining amount going through distribution partners. To
end users of water, we provide the majority of our sales through long-standing
relationships with the world’s leading distributors, with the remainder
going direct to customers.
The Equipment and Services market addresses the key processes of the water
industry. We believe this industry has two distinct sectors within the cycle
of water: Water Infrastructure and Usage Applications. The key processes of
this cycle begin when raw water is extracted by pumps, which provide the necessary
pressure and flow, to move or transport, this water from natural sources, such
as oceans, groundwater, lakes and rivers, through pipes to treatment facilities.
Treatment facilities can provide many forms of treatment, such as filtration,
disinfection and desalination, to remove solids, bacteria, and salt, respectively.
Throughout each of these stages, analytical instruments test the water to ensure
regulatory requirements are met so that it can be utilized by end-use customers.
A network of pipes and pumps again transports this clean water to where it is
needed, such as to crops for irrigation, to power plants to provide cooling
in industrial water, or to an apartment building as drinking water in residential
and commercial buildings. After usage, the wastewater is collected by a separate
network of pipes and pumps and transported to a wastewater treatment facility,
where processes such as digestion deactivate and reduce the volume of solids,
and disinfection purifies effluent water. Once treated, analytical instruments
test the water to ensure regulatory requirements are met so that it can be discharged
back to the environment, thereby completing the cycle.