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Michigan Technology was established to resolve water-related issues based on its industry-leading expertise on ozone. Korea has maintained a higher water quality compared to other countries, thanks to the country’s favorable natural environment and government-led large-scaled water treatment systems. This has enabled Korean consumers to use abundant water resources, but the growth of the water treatment market has been confined. The market has partially adopted and verified various experimental water treatment technologies at the stage of conventional water treatment. However, the market still lacks innovative technology which can provide a breakthrough. Against this backdrop, Michigan Technology has strived to proactively pioneer the market by developing technology that can innovate the domestic and global water treatment markets, together with the best engineering team from the University of Ulsan, led by Professor Byeong-Ho Lee.

Key competitiveness of Michigan Technology: DOF

The technology representing Michigan Technology is the water treatment technique called DOF (Dissolved Ozone Flotation). The water treatment process consists of various steps to deal with pollutants through individual and phased approaches. This requires a huge space to contain water and a long treatment time. Michigan Technology is the only company in the world that can precisely compress and dissolve ozone with the controlled density. Building on this technology, Michigan Technology developed the DOF water treatment technique by streamlining the multi-phased water treatment process into a single unit process. This is a great breakthrough.

The advantages of DOF technology include higher water quality than existing technologies enabled by maximizing the use of the ozone, and saving construction costs, space and operating costs by replacing the multi-phased process with a single process.

Michigan Technology takes a step forward in the global market

Since its establishment at a lab at the University of Ulsan in 2002, Michigan Technology has made R&D investments for technological perfection, while supplying wastewater and industrial wastewater treatment systems to 24 clients in Korea, verifying its competitiveness. Michigan Technology takes up about 12 percent of the Korean water treatment market, and is striving for global market entry, based on its technology and know-how well developed in the Korean market.

Unlike Korea, which has abundant water resources, many countries around the world suffer water shortage. Countries in the Middle East and Africa suffer from water shortage due to their natural environments, while many Southeast Asian countries suffer water pollution due to the absence of water treatment systems despite high precipitation. Michigan Technology established its branches in the Philippines and Indonesia, and has developed such markets in Southeast Asia by providing solutions customized for the local conditions respective to each country.

Most Southeast Asian countries lack water treatment facilities such as SOC, and each economic actor in those countries are mandated to treat water. This has led to high demand for small-scaled water treatment solutions for individual businesses, but the market has failed to meet the needs for small but powerful water treatment technology. In addition, rapid urbanization has led to rapid growth of demand for large-scaled water treatment systems, but many local governments have failed to finance the systems. Most notably, Indonesia, which has one of the largest water treatment markets in the world, is a very promising market for Michigan Technology.

Global market strategy

Michigan Technology is developing the global market with two-track strategies. First, the company is preoccupying the water treatment market for small businesses by offering modularized small-scaled DOF solutions.

Second, the company will enter the large-scaled water treatment market with its DOF technology, of which the advantages include minimized construction costs, space required and operating costs. Most orders for large-scaled water treatment systems are made in the public sector, including orders for operation of the facilities. More notably, when applying DOF technology to large-scaled BOT water treatment systems, we can maximize profit during the operation cycle while offering operating costs significantly lower than the rivaling existing technologies.

The Indonesian branch of Michigan Technology entered into an MOU with a public corporation for water resources management in Tangerang to supply water treatment systems to four apartment complexes in 2021, and is conducting due diligence for construction of the wastewater treatment facility in 2022. Michigan Technology is expected to record revenues of USD 3 billion in 2021, USD 6 billion in 2022 and USD 10 billion in 2023 in Indonesia’s water treatment market.

Amid water shortage issues being worsened globally, on top of urbanization and industrialization, the demand for water treatment technology are ever growing. Developing countries which lack the financial and technical resources to meet the needs can opt for the DOF technology of Michigan Technology, which will surely be the optimal solution for them. Not only countries of the Middle East and Africa including Egypt and Kazakhstan but large, developed economies such as the US and Canada are contacting Michigan Technology to meet the needs for regions lacking access to water treatment facilities. Michigan Technology is confident that it will grow into a world-leading water treatment solution provider, starting with its footprint in Indonesia.

This photo shows Michigan Technology's Dissolved Ozone Flotation (DOF) Small Plant which can supply drinking water to approximately 1,000 persons. (Photo provided by company)

By Byoung Ho Lee
CEO, Michigan Technology Co., Ltd.