As aleader in the water and environment management sector, Ion Exchange (India) played a transformative role in shaping the industry’s response to climate change and water scarcity. Ajay Popat, President, Ion Exchange (India) talks about the company’s performance and expansion plans… 

How do you view the current state of the water treatment industry in India? What are the key challenges and opportunities? 

India’s water treatment industry offers significant investment opportunities. Key challenges are water stress, ground water depletion, urban water scarcity and infrastructure inadequacy. With increasing urbanization and industrialization, Government of India’s proactive emphasis is on sustainable water management, including conservation strategies and water reuse mechanisms which provides ample opportunity to water companies, innovators and start-ups. 

How has the overall performance been for Ion Exchange (India) so far in FY 2024-25? 

For 9 months of FY 2024-25, on a consolidated basis our operating income increased around 21 per cent YOY. Profit after tax increased around 18 per cent on a YOY basis. 

What is the total order book as of now and what is the expectation from FY 2025-26?  

As of now, we have a healthy consolidated order book reflecting strong demand across industrial and municipal sectors. Aided also by strong enquiry pipeline, we expect FY 2025-26 to be equally promising. 

Recently, the company expanded its European presence with the acquisition of a Portuguese company. How is this going to impact the performance of the company?  

Our acquisition of MAPRIL in Portugal is a strategic move to strengthen our presence in Europe. It gives us direct access to European markets and brings us closer to customers in the region. With MAPRIL’s established presence in key business sectors, this acquisition complements our strengths and opens up new opportunities in developed markets that are increasingly focused on sustainability and water reuse. Over the foreseeable long term, we see this significantly contributing to our business performance. 

What is the current status of development of your Roha plant? 

Our Roha facility, which will significantly increase our manufacturing volumes for world-class ion exchange resins, adsorbents, etc., is expected to be operational during the first half of this financial year. It will meet increasing global demand for our high-performance ion exchange resins-used in industries, municipalities and home water solutions. 

The company also ventured into the production of membranes for various applications in water treatment. How is this contributing to the company’s overall performance? 

Our pioneering initiative of membrane manufacturing through the HYDRAMEM brand in 1987 led to development of membrane market and their application in India. By offering indigenously manufactured membranes meeting global standards in our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility we’ve been able to reduce import dependence, offer cost-effective membrane products to meet increasing demands for UF/RO/NF and MBR membranes in India and global markets we serve. This initiative also supports the “Make in India” vision. Membrane business will continue to positively contribute to our company’s performance.  

What role does Ion Exchange (India) play in the push for sustainable water management, especially in the context of climate change?  

Ion Exchange’s strength lies in its unique ability to provide 360^o sustainable solutions for water and wastewater treatment to industries, homes and communities – across both urban and rural geographies. Our technologies and pioneering efforts in promoting sustainable water management concepts include 30+ Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems enhancing sustainability quotients of our customers; 15+ desalination plants in India and abroad; largest range of effluent treatment solutions, drinking water technologies under our ZeroB brand right from Suraksha Tap Attachment to High Recovery RO (HRR) to our alkaline and hydrogen water solutions. Furthermore, our recent innovations showcase our continued commitment to deliver additional value for the cause of sustainability. Our newer ion exchange and membrane technologies are designed to improve water quality and recovery.  

We offer an exciting range of advanced oxidation technology solutions at affordable costs for treating high strength industrial effluents. Our exciting waste-to-energy solutions to help municipalities and communities turn waste into valuable resources like purified water, green energy and nutrient-rich fertilizers whilst enabling sustainable waste management. 

Thus, as a leader in the water and environment management sector, Ion Exchange has played a transformative role in shaping the industry’s response to climate change and water scarcity. We have consistently delivered cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions that seamlessly align with SDG 13 (Climate Action). 

With the rising concern over water scarcity and quality, how do you see technology transforming the water treatment sector? 

Technology is playing a pivotal role in transforming the challenges into business opportunities, both in India and globally, on the principles of “doing more with less”. Innovations and technology led development/upgradation. In India and the geographies, we serve, that faces significant challenges related to efficient water management, our digital water solutions provide predictive analytics, reduce manual intervention and optimize energy and chemical use and with significant reduction in maintenance costs, reduced down time to improve efficiency of water management process. 

At Ion Exchange, we are excited to offer these innovations integrated with digital intelligence into our systems to deliver higher efficiency, reduced operating costs and improved compliance for our customers. 

What latest digital/technological advancements the company has adopted to help industries optimize chemical usage and reduce cost? 

Technology is reshaping the water industry by making it smarter, more efficient and sustainable. For India, which faces multiple challenges as explained above, embracing these innovations is essential to secure its water future. We have been providing clients with customized chemical and total water management solutions through our equipment and performance chemicals. In recent times, we have enhanced our value prepositions by developing affordable and reliable online monitoring tools and IoT-enabled remote management platforms. This allows our customers to track water quality parameters in real-time. It optimizes chemical dosing, reduce wastage and will enable predictive insights. 

Sustainability is a key focus for many companies today. How does Ion Exchange (India) incorporate sustainable practices in its operations? 

At Ion Exchange, sustainability is not just a responsibility – it is at the very core of our business purpose: to conserve the planet’s most precious resources through total water and environment management solutions. Our operations are also certified under ISO 14001, ensuring that we consistently follow stringent environmental protection guidelines with regular compliance monitoring. Emissions from our factories remain well within the permissible limits set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and our facilities actively work on reducing water footprints in non-product applications like cleaning, gardening and domestic use. 

In terms of water conservation, we are committed to replenishing water used in our operations and to this end, we continuously invest in advanced and efficient technologies that ensure water is reused and recycled within our manufacturing processes. For energy conservation, we are committed to sustainable operations by harnessing solar energy across our factories and offices. By installing solar panels at multiple locations, we reduce our carbon footprint, lower dependence on conventional energy sources and actively promote the use of clean, renewable energy. 

How Ion Exchange (India) has been helping companies achieve water conservation goals by offering solutions that allow them to recycle maximum amounts of water?  

Pollution and increased demand have made good quality water scarce and expensive, both in terms of direct cost of water and the effect of unsuitable water on plant economics and product quality. Meanwhile, disposal norms are getting tighter and their enforcement stricter. Ion Exchange help its customers to effectively and economically solve their water scarcity problems by conserving vast volumes of water and protecting the environment by reducing discharge, while generating substantial savings for them.   

Our effluent recycle solutions are integrated to yield optimal benefit. For instance, recycle systems are combined with specialty water treatment chemical programmes that substantially reduce water discharge (for example, cooling tower blowdown); and state-of-the-art effluent treatment plants are integrated with zero liquid discharge processes. They are backed by comprehensive operation and maintenance services, for high performance continuity. Industries that have installed our effluent treatment, recycle and zero liquid discharge systems have gained an excellent payback on their investment. 

What are some of the latest innovations or technologies that Ion Exchange (India) has adopted or developed? 

IonSite Digital Twin offered by us enables plant operators to monitor and optimize the performance of their plants in real-time with real time analytics prediction and prescription to mitigate failures. The Advance Oxidation Technology – TADOX recently licensed from TERI addresses the gap and challenges in treating complex effluents produced by textile, chemical, paper, tannery and petrochemical industries in a very cost-effective way. 

Our widest range advanced and new biological process ensures significant reduction in footprint, energy and chemical costs. We are equally excited by the success of newer membranes to enhance water, resource recovery and making ZLD affordable to every industry together with advances and innovations in green chemistries. Our innovative, world-class products like INDIONHemo (high purity water for artificial kidney dialysis), FDA compliant excipients and APIs for the pharmaceutical industry complement our solutions for high purity water requirements of these industries. 

For home water consumers, our innovative alkaline, hydrogen water POUs have added the width to an otherwise exciting range of domestic softener, high water recovery ROs. Last but not the least – our foray in converting waste-to-energy not only adds to the circularity quotient of our customers but also offers holistic solutions to municipalities and communities to use waste as a resource for generating valuable by-products like water, green energy and nutrient-rich fertilizers. 

How does Ion Exchange (India) approach research and development to stay ahead in the competitive market? 

Ion Exchange’s R&D center is recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India and continues to be the core of our growth over last six decades. Our R&D centers in India focus on product innovation, process improvement and customization based on sector-specific needs. We closely collaborate with global technology partners, research institutions and customers to co-create solutions. Our approach to R&D is both proactive and responsive - addressing current market demands while also anticipating future trends such as climate adaptation, green chemistry and digital water technologies. 

What do you believe will be the next big trend in water treatment and how is Ion Exchange (India) preparing for it? 

The big trends will be convergence of water technology with digital solutions in order to identify (in real time) and, provide cost-effective solutions for emerging contaminants, PFAS, etc.; adapting nano technologies for purification and separation processes; alternate water reuse and circular water economy through affordable desalination, recycle, and ZLD; IoT enabled decentralized and modular systems for water, wastewater, waste-to-energy treated at community, commercial and industry level and resource recovery (like recovering nutrients or energy from wastewater) and carbon-neutral treatment systems will also gain prominence.  

Ion Exchange continues to invest in these areas through internal R&D, strategic partnerships and technology acquisitions. Our goal is to be future-ready and offer solutions that are not just efficient but also environmentally and economically sustainable.  

What is your vision for Ion Exchange (India) in the next 5 to 10 years, especially in terms of market expansion and innovation? 

Our vision is ‘to be the leader in our business which is so vital to people’s lives and the environment’. Supporting this vision statement, we plan to consolidate our global footprint, deepen our presence in existing markets and offer innovative membranes, chemicals, digital solutions and specialty resins. We will continue to uphold our commitment to excellence, sustainability and customer-centric innovation and service.