Modernise your water treatment infrastructure to increase capacity, improve performance, reduce operating overheads, and meet evolving regulatory requirements
Custom automation and SCADA integration for critical water treatment processes plants.
Seamlessly integrate new water treatment equipment with your existing infrastructure.
Complete turnkey water treatment plants from initial concept through commissioning.
Comprehensive support packages including preventive maintenance, remote diagnostics, operator training and genuine spare parts.
Extending Plant Life, Enhancing Performance
Water and wastewater treatment plants face constant pressure to do more with less. Whether driven by production expansion, stricter discharge limits, aging infrastructure, or efficiency targets, plant upgrades offer a efficient alternative to greenfield construction. Our retrofit solutions maximise use of existing infrastructure while integrating modern technologies to achieve your performance objectives.
Efficiency vs New Build
Faster Implementation
Years Extended Life
Uptime Maintained
Why Plants Need Modernisation
Comprehensive Modernisation Options
Replace aging or obsolete equipment with modern, efficient alternatives while utilising existing civil structures.
Enhance treatment performance by adding or modifying process units to improve efficiency and capacity.
Increase plant throughput through hydraulic and process improvements without major civil works.
Modernise control systems to improve reliability, reduce labour, and enable remote monitoring.
Maximising Value from Existing Infrastructure
Our retrofit methodology focuses on maximising the use of existing infrastructure while strategically adding new equipment or processes. This approach typically delivers 30% operational benefits compared to new construction while minimising disruption to ongoing operations.
Detailed evaluation of existing infrastructure condition, performance bottlenecks, and upgrade requirements to develop the optimal retrofit strategy.
Creative solutions that reuse existing tanks, buildings, and utilities while integrating modern equipment for enhanced performance.
Pre-fabricated and containerised systems that minimise on-site construction and accelerate commissioning timelines.
Expert guidance through permit modifications, environmental approvals, and compliance certification for upgraded systems.
Minimising Disruption, Maximising Uptime
Upgrades are implemented in carefully planned phases to maintain treatment continuity. Our project management ensures minimal disruption to ongoing operations during construction and commissioning.
Site survey, performance audit, and infrastructure condition evaluation
Concept design, cost estimation, and project benefits analysis
Detailed engineering, P&ID development, and equipment specification
Phased construction schedule and outage coordination
Equipment installation with parallel operation maintained
Testing, optimisation, and operator training
Real-World Retrofit Achievements
Replaced aging dissolved air flotation system with modern high-efficiency unit, increasing capacity by 40% while reducing energy consumption by 25%. Installation completed during scheduled maintenance shutdown.
Added chemical precipitation and filtration to existing activated sludge plant to meet new 0.5 mg/L phosphorus discharge limit. Retrofit design utilised existing clarifiers with minimal civil works.
Upgraded API separator with integrated DAF and filtration to handle increased oil content and meet stricter discharge requirements. Phased implementation maintained continuous production.
Why Retrofit Makes Sense
Retrofit projects typically cost 30-50% less than new construction while delivering comparable performance improvements. Existing civil works, utilities, and infrastructure are preserved.
Upgrade projects can be completed in 50% less time than greenfield construction, minimising the period between investment and return.
Retrofitting minimises construction waste, land disturbance, and carbon footprint compared to building new facilities.
Phased implementation allows performance validation at each stage, reducing project risk and ensuring objectives are met.
Careful planning maintains treatment capacity throughout construction, avoiding discharge violations and production interruptions.
Modern equipment and control systems provide the flexibility to adapt to changing regulations and operational requirements.
Complete Upgrade Support
Validate upgrade concepts and optimise process parameters with on-site pilot testing before full-scale implementation.
Learn About Pilot TestingDetailed process design and documentation for seamless integration of new equipment with existing systems.
View P&ID Design ServicesModern control system upgrades for improved automation, monitoring, and remote access capabilities.
Explore SCADA & AutomationComputational fluid dynamics modelling to optimise hydraulic performance and equipment placement.
Explore CFD SimulationCustom automation and SCADA integration for critical water treatment processes plants.
View PageOur custom engineering team is involved in designing water treatment equipment to your exact specifications.
View PageAdvanced material selection and protective coatings for aggressive wastewater environments.
View PageWe design bespoke water treatment systems with guaranteed performance targets.
View PageSeamlessly integrate new water treatment equipment with your existing infrastructure.
View PageRetrofit, Replace, or Expand?
Not every aging asset warrants replacement. Our decision matrix guides resource allocation based on asset condition, performance gap, and regulatory pressure.
| Condition / Driver | Retrofit | Replace In-Situ | Greenfield / Parallel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil structure > 70% design life | Not recommended | Feasible with liner repair | Preferred |
| Capacity shortfall < 40% | High-rate retrofit | Same footprint upgrade | Over-engineered |
| New pollutant (e.g. PFAS, P) | Tertiary add-on | Process change inside existing tanks | Greenfield if land available |
| Control system obsolescence | PLC/SCADA upgrade | Panel replacement | Full DCS migration |
| Energy efficiency improvement target > 30% | VFD + blower upgrade | Full aeration retrofit | MEC/AnMBR alternative |
| Parts no longer available | Reverse-engineer spares | Drop-in replacement | New technology adoption |
| Discharge limit tightening > 50% | Polishing stage add-on | Core process change | Best available technique (BAT) |
| Resource constraint < 50% of new build | Optimal | Moderate | Not feasible |
Engineered Confidence, Contractually Backed
Upgrade projects carry perceived risk. We mitigate this with contractual performance guarantees, extended warranties, and penalty clauses tied to measurable outcomes.
If guaranteed outlet parameters are not met within 90 days of SAT, liquidated damages apply at 0.05% of contract value per day, capped at 5%. This is conditional on inlet quality and flow remaining within the agreed design envelope.
For energy-focused upgrades, we offer shared-benefits contracts. We guarantee a minimum kWh/mĀ³ reduction. Reductions are metered and verified to IPMVP Option B. If benefits fall short, we reimburse the difference.
Extending Vessel Life Without Replacement
Existing concrete tanks suffering from HāS-induced sulphuric acid attack can be relined rather than rebuilt. Spray-applied polyurethane or epoxy coatings (1,500ā3,000 Āµm DFT) restore impermeability. Crack injection with epoxy grout for structural leaks. Design life extension: 15ā20 years.
Removal of failed rubber or paint systems by grit blasting to Sa 2.5. Re-application of chlorobutyl rubber (4 mm) for abrasive duty, or novolac vinyl-ester for chemical resistance. Spark testing at 5 kV/mm confirms pinhole-free coverage. Re-certified for 10-year service intervals.
Cast-iron impellers upgraded to duplex stainless or hard-faced CD4MCu for abrasive solids. Blower rotors recoated with Cerakote or HVOF tungsten carbide to restore clearances. Bearing upgrades to SKF or NSK spherical roller bearings with L10 life > 50,000 hours.
MBR membrane modules replaced with latest-generation PVDF hollow-fibre (0.04 Āµm) offering 30% higher flux at lower TMP. Activated carbon or sand filter media changed to catalytic carbon for chloramine or HāS removal. Bio-media upgrades to advanced PP bio-blocks with 650 mĀ²/mĀ³ specific surface.
Replacement of mild steel pipe with GRE or HDPE for buried services. Butterfly valves upgraded to PTFE-lined eccentric plug valves for reliable isolation in solids-laden streams. Pipe supports surveyed and replaced to current EN 13480 standards, preventing vibration-induced fatigue.
Replacement of degraded calcium-silicate insulation with closed-cell foam glass for frost protection. Self-regulating heat trace cables (16 W/m) on sampling lines and chemical dosing pipework. Temperature monitoring via Pt100 RTDs with local frost alarms.
From Relay Logic to Modern DCS
For plants still operating on relay logic or pneumatic controllers. We design a like-for-like functional replacement using a modern PLC, preserving operator familiarity while adding data logging and remote alarm capability. Typical retrofit: 4ā6 weeks with no process shutdown using temporary control panels.
Migration from Siemens S5, Allen-Bradley PLC-5, or Modicon Compact to current platforms. Program translation and I/O mapping minimise rewiring. We maintain a library of legacy-to-modern migration templates, reducing programming risk and commissioning time by 40%.
Adding network connectivity and a central SCADA layer to isolated PLC islands. Unified alarm management, trending, and reporting. Integration to plant maintenance systems (SAP PM, Maximo) for automatic work-order generation on equipment faults.
Edge gateway deployment pushing anonymised performance data to secure cloud dashboards. Enables Reynolds & Bauhm remote support engineers to diagnose issues without site visits. Data ownership remains with the client; AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest.
Contact our upgrade specialists to discuss your modernisation requirements and discover how we can enhance your plant's performance while maximising the value of your existing infrastructure.
Our expertise spans multiple industries with sector-specific water treatment solutions.