Bio-UV Group cuts ribbon on new Bio-Sea BWTS training facility

Bio-Sea skid training unit

With most ships now compliant with IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention in that they have now installed an approved system, ballast water treatment system (BWTS) manufacturers are focusing on the aftersales market – BWTS training, annual certification, maintenance, and system retrofits.

In line with this trend, France’s Bio-UV Group, the manufacturer of the Bio-Sea ballast water management system, has cut the ribbon on a new 1,200 square meter maritime training, R&D, engineering, and production facility, increasing the footprint of its existing Lunel, France, based site to 6,400 square meters.

The completion of the €2.2 million extension allows Bio-UV Group to both increase production of its UV-based water treatment systems and to deliver a comprehensive range of Bio-Sea BWTS training modules to ships’ crews.

“Ballast water treatment systems are technically complex and ships’ crews’ proper training is essential to ensure they are operated and maintained safely, efficiently, and remain compliant,” says Bio-Sea business unit director Maxime Dedeurwaerder. “We now have a modern facility with a classroom and a full-scale Bio-SEA system for crew training.”

The first ship’s crew to receive Bio-Sea training at the new facility is scheduled to arrive this summer.

The company, which specializes in water disinfection by ultraviolet light, salt electrolysis, ozone, and AOP for a myriad of industrial sectors, has moved its entire maritime division to the new facility.

“Moving our entire maritime division across to the new facility will support and strengthen our ambitions in the global maritime industry, while the larger surface allows the group to ramp up training and certification on its systems as the industry moves towards a post-BWTS installation market,” said Dedeurwaerder.

“Having started construction in January 2023, the completion of the expansion is an essential development in support of anticipated growth”, said Laurent Emmanuel Migeon, CEO of Bio-UV Group. “When we inaugurated our first main building in 2013, we had a turnover of around €6.5 million with a team of 47 employees. Since then, Bio-UV Group has continued to grow, bringing its turnover to €43.1 million in 2023, with more than 50% of the production of disinfection and water treatment systems sold internationally. This has required us to expand our production site as well as additional offices to meet anticipated market demand.”

For 2024, the company anticipates a continued strengthening of its aftersales services, which are expected to contribute more strongly to the maritime division’s margin and offer greater visibility over the coming years.