Flowtronex forms alliance with AQUA SO2

Golf Course News, Nov 2001 by Overbeck, Andrew

Agreement completes company's IWM division

DALLAS - Flowtronex PSI has rounded out its new Integrated Water Management division by forging an exclusive marketing alliance with Aqua SO^sub 2^.

The California firm, which manufactures SO^sub 2^ generators that control the pH and bicarbonate levels in the water supply, is the final piece of Flowtronex's effort to provide add-on components that optimize water quality. The Integrated Water Management division (GCN Sept. 2001) will combine fertigation, pH control and filtration into a single intelligent system.

"We need to focus on water quality as much as water quantity," said Tom Male, director of sales. "Water is becoming a scarce resource and quality is becoming a huge issue. Irrigating with quality water increases turf health while decreasing water and energy consumption."

INTEGRATED SYSTEM

Flowtronex will now be able to offer all of these add-on components with integrated central controls and single source accountability.

"The equipment will all be integrated on the central computer which will allow it to be controlled and monitored remotely," said Male.

According to national sales manager Allen Olson, single source accountability will further streamline the process. "Contractors were adding these systems after the fact and messing with the flow sensors," he said. "So we were getting involved anyway. Now we can control the system and modify it before it hits the field. It will simplify the operation."

The system will arrive at courses as one unit and will be installed and serviced by Flowtronex's national dealer network. Flowtronex produces the filtration and fertigation systems and AQUA S02 will ship its units to Dallas from its manufacturing facility in Bakersfield, Calif.

Flowtronex will be tweaking the S02 system to automate it and improve the pH sensing devices so that they can be controlled remotely.

"This is going to tie in really well with the golf market," said AQUA S02's president Jim Webb. "We will improve our automation and pH control and will work closely with Flowtronex and their dealer networks as a technical advisor."

The add-on units will increase the cost of a pump station. The S02 system will cost $15,000 to $25,000 and the Nutrifeed fertigation system will cost $8,000 to $16,000.

MORE TO COME

Going forward, Flowtronex will look to increase control and monitoring capabilities of the systems. "For example, we are looking at controlling oxygen and salt content," said Male. "Looking at the future, there will be more than just these three devices."

For now, however, Male is bullish about attacking the market with the newly bundled technology. "The largest potential market is the existing courses," he said. "There are more than 10,000 courses that have problems that this system could solve."