The onus is on businesses to carefully manage their industrial water ecosystems. Water restrictions and unreliability are daily risks. Companies must evaluate their water sources: municipal, rainwater, borehole or river, ensuring that water is suitable for its intended use and that it is being used efficiently. When water leaves the plant, should it be recycled for further use or treated prior to discharge?
These are critical considerations highlighted by CEO Shaun Golding and his team at industrial water treatment specialist G-Chem Aquacare: “In today’s context of national water scarcity, ageing infrastructure and increasing regulatory pressure, we help industries do more with less water, protecting critical assets and supporting environmental compliance,” Golding explains.
Trusted industrial water partners
Collectively, the founders and shareholders of G-Chem Aquacare represent decades of hands-on experience in industrial water treatment, providing deep insight into the shifts and challenges within the current water treatment landscape.
Golding notes that many water treatment organisations have reduced investment in technical training, research and development. This has contributed to a broader industry shift toward transactional chemical and equipment supply models – rather than fully integrated, results-driven water management partnerships.
G-Chem Aquacare counters this trend through a highly skilled, results-driven approach. The company prioritises long-term relationships built on technical accountability, operational understanding and trust.
This approach also ensures effective client education, encouraging them to become part of the water treatment process, as success depends greatly on commitment from both parties.
“Our founders recognised a growing gap in the provision of results-driven, technically accountable water treatment solutions which specifically meet our clients’ needs. Too often, clients were sold products rather than client-driven solutions, with limited technical understanding of their processes, risks and long-term objectives.
We invest in strong, committed and technically well-trained water technologists who understand our clients’ operational needs, and are accountable for their water quality, efficiency and risk reduction,” Golding advises.
Growth in water
Since its establishment in 2016, G-Chem Aquacare has evolved into a multi-regional industrial water treatment business servicing complex and exacting operations across South Africa.
Managing Director Kevin Naidoo outlines the company’s key achievements, including long-term service partnerships with major industrial, manufacturing and processing clients, successful implementation of boiler, cooling, effluent and HVAC water-treatment programmes in high-risk environments and consistent performance in operations where uptime, compliance and reliability are critical.
“G-Chem Aquacare embraces practical, field-proven innovation which improves control, reduces risk, and delivers measurable outcomes. At G-Chem Aquacare, technology is implemented where it adds operational value, never for novelty.
This includes the increased use of online monitoring and automation, adoption of modern treatment chemistries and the continuous refinement of technical standards across boiler, cooling and effluent systems,” says Naidoo.
Furthermore, the company works closely with international technology partners and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) aligning its solutions with global best practice, while using performance data to proactively optimise water, energy and chemical efficiency.
It is also a member of the Association of Water Technologies (AWT), a leading international body representing water treatment professionals and companies. Golding emphasises the importance of staying aligned with global developments in industrial water treatment and maintaining connections with leading innovation markets such as the United States, China and India.
Water across different sectors
G-Chem Aquacare focuses on four critical operational areas of water treatment where performance, risk and impact are highest: boiler water treatment, cooling water treatment, effluent water treatment and clarification water treatment.
“This focused approach enables deeper technical training, targeted innovation and disciplined service delivery, resulting in more reliable and sustainable outcomes for clients,” Naidoo notes.
Within this framework, G-Chem Aquacare supports multiple industries, including food and beverage, dairy, poultry and fisheries, packaging and plastics, timber and wood processing, general manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, commercial buildings and data centres, HVAC, refrigeration, sugar and agri-processing, steel, mining and mineral processing.
“By specialising in defined water treatment services across these industries, G-Chem Aquacare develops a deeper understanding of process-specific risks, regulatory requirements and operational priorities. This enables the delivery of practical, results-driven industrial programmes that protect assets, optimise water use, reduce downtime and support compliance,” he continues.
A vision for water
Golding explains that G-Chem Aquacare’s values are built around people, performance, technical excellence and delivering results to clients. The company fosters a results-driven mindset where performance is measured, reviewed and continuously improved, supported by deep technical expertise and strong team cohesion.
G-Chem Aquacare has further strengthened its capability by incorporating highly experienced technical specialists who provide leadership, mentorship and strategic guidance across its core disciplines of boiler, cooling, effluent treatment and clarification.
Through structured development pathways, continuous skills upliftment and a strong culture of safety, accountability and ownership, the company maintains consistent service quality and long-term organisational resilience.
Water treatment future
Golding sees strong growth potential in industrial water treatment, particularly in helping clients to optimise their water usage footprint and to improve internal water-use efficiency through reuse and recycling strategies.
“While the ultimate objective for many industrial facilities is Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), achieving this requires a clear understanding of each step in the industrial water cycle, the supporting treatment technologies and the operational realities of the plant. We work closely with clients to develop practical, phased strategies for water use and reuse, balancing environmental responsibility with financial sustainability,” Golding concludes.
Cujo
Exchange Rate: The changes of the exchange rate from US$ to South African Rand will bring challenges to importers but offers a huge opportunity to export South African products with a competitive price. It also encourages South African to source products in South Africa and will increase the production here.