On Sunday the 23rd May 2009 FM Environmental’s Kevin Fitzpatrick completed his second long-distance triathlon, the Lanzarote Ironman. Often referred to as the “World’s Toughest Ironman” Lanzarote with its strong winds and mountainous terrain truly tests the endurance of those athletes prepared to take it on.

Having completed Ironman France in Nice in 2008 Kevin realised he enjoyed the multi-discipline sport that required you to swim 3.8km, bike 180km and run a full 42.2km marathon one after the other, and so he set his sights on Lanzarote. Along with over 1300 other athletes from 35 countries Kevin started the day at 4.30am, hit the water at the start-line at 7.00am and completed the course by 9.16pm that evening. His 14-hour journey took him 2 laps around the beautiful bay at Puerto del Carmen, a bike ride around the entire island of Lanzarote, followed by and out-and-back run course along the bustling Puerto del Carmen promenade.

“The island is one great lump of volcanic rock that, throughout the day, is constantly being battered by the North Atlantic winds,” commented Kevin. “You have to climb an altitude of over 2500m which though spectacular in parts is painful throughout!”

The tough conditions contributed to Kevin suffering a crash on his bike where he gashed his arm and dislocated a thumb making the last few hours of the bike leg particularly painful. However he was able to get to the start of the marathon and finished off the race in reasonable shape.

“It was longer than I had hoped, mainly because of the tough bike course. But the sensation in completing the race is a hard one to beat so I’ll be lining up another one for next year!” promised Kevin.

Kevin’s split times:

Swim: 1:20
Bike: 7:55
Run: 4:35
Total: 14:16

At a reception hosted by the High Commission In Kuala Lumpur, Eamonn Fitzpatrick Chairman of FM Environmental Ltd signed an agreement with Engineered Products & Services in Malaysia appointing them as main distributor for the ‘Grease Guardian’ in South East Asia.

This product which is already well established in the region, is designed to take fats, oils and grease from waste water. Last year 25 units were installed at the new terminal 3 in Singapore Airport and this agreement will enhance product sales in the region.

Engineered Product & Services sent a member of their staff to Newry for training and recently FM visited the market on an Invest NI Trade Mission.

Pictured in the photo:-
Eamonn Fitzpatrick, Chairman FM Environmental
Ken Choong, General Manager Engineered Product & Services – Malaysia
Trevor Lewis, Director of Trade British High Commission – Kuala Lumpur
Clare Gadd, Invest N.I. Mission Manager

Wastewater treatment and re-use is increasingly being integrated in the utilisation of water resources in the private industry, especially the hotel industry, FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd said. The eventuality of higher water tariffs and possible introduction of a sewage tax in the near future, has triggered the local hotel industry to invest in wastewater treatment technologies, and these hotels are benefiting from considerable operational cost savings.

The company said that one of these success stories is the five-star Hilton Hotel in Malta, which is recycling wastewater for second class purposes, re-using it for toilet flushings and landscape irrigation among others. The treated wastewater is totally disinfected and treated to the highest standards of applications, and hence safeguarded from any health hazard.

Apart from enhancing a ‘green hotel’ policy, such an investment has resulted in lower first class water consumption bills and hence lower operational costs. In many cases on-site wastewater treatment is being utilised as a cost-cutting tool, especially when one considers that payback periods result to be within sustainable time frames. Ing. Joseph Restall, chief engineer of the Hilton Hotel Malta stated that ‘the installation of an STP at our hotel has proven to be a success in reducing water generation. The water produced is used in irrigation and in the second class water system, saving over 5,000 cubic metres a year. For us this has been a success story, reinforcing Hilton Malta’s commitment to environmental sustainability.’

On a national scale, wastewater treatment in the private industry will reduce the burden on the heavily exploited aquifers and can reduce the demand from the desalination plants, which consume a lot of costly energy.

In order to re-use wastewater, it must be treated to relatively high standards, depending upon the re-use application. On a positive note, small to medium sized wastewater treatment plant technology is available in Malta. FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd is one of the key players in this sector, providing custom designed wastewater treatment technologies. The company was set up in 1998 and has manufacturing premises in Marsa industrial estate. FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd is part of FM Environmental group of Northern Ireland and has over 35 years experience, in the wastewater treatment industry overseas.

The company can offer various treatment technologies depending on the treated water quality required, type of application and site conditions. Such treatment plants occupy very small footprints and can be installed either at basement level, outdoor below or above ground installations. Technologies vary from traditional biological treatment in various forms to the latest innovations in the sector, such as membrane bio-reactor treatment.

Applications can start from single house installations going up to small communities, hotels or any other sites with up to a population of 5,000.

Newry Junior Chamber held its AGM in the Whistledown Hotel last Friday 16th January. Nicola Whyte HR & Marketing Manager with FM Environmental was elected as the President for 2009. The election of officers was chaired by Mary Doran, President of Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade.
For further information on Newry Junior Chamber visit the web site on www.newryjuniorchamber.com

Congratulations to the following FM Engineers who all successfully completed the 17th Edition Electrical Training with Southern Regional College, Newry:…….
Paddy McArdle – pictured below
Oliver Clarke – pictured below
Joe McGivern
Raymond Greer
Sean Duffy
John McDonald
Gareth Toale
Anthony Byrne

Two of our Installation Engineers Sean Duffy and Anthony Byrne won an internal competition, all expenses paid holiday to Malta.

FM Environmental have an office in Malta for over 10 years. When Sean and Anthony finished touring the capital city of Vallentta and basking in the sunshine, they took time out to visit our office, workshop and team of staff.

FM Environmental this week introduced the latest in fleet management technology with the launch of the Vehicle Management System for all its service and installation fleet. The new system, provided by NIBC Ltd., employs GPRS and satellite navigation technology to provide instant, real-time location and monitoring of the Company’s nationwide fleet of 16 vehicles. With the rapid expansion in recent years of the Company’s service operation FM Environmental realised that to fully capitalise on a nationwide team of service engineers they needed a more professional and effective method of managing and deploying their resources. The Vehicle Management System provides more efficient fleet management, better route-planning, quicker response to customers’ needs and greater flexibility in the use of service and installation engineers. FM currently employs a regionally-based team of Service and Installation personnel in Newry, Carlow, Limerick, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Derry and the addition of the new system will help provide customers with an unparalleled response to their servicing and call-out requirements.

Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade held its Annual Gala Banquet on Friday 10th October in the Canal Court Hotel. Over 300 guests from the local business community were in attendance at what was regarded as one of the most glamorous and prestigious events in the local business calendar. The Special Guest of Honour, Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern delivered a compelling, thought provoking and entertaining keynote speech to a captivated audience.

FM Environmental were noted in his speech as a local business who has experienced significant growth within the last two years, particularly in the Republic of Ireland and overseas.

FM Environmental together with one of their main suppliers Grundfos Pumps hosted their 5th annual corporate golf day at Warrenpoint Golf Club on Friday last 5th September.

The four-ball competition was enjoyed by the participants who included FM Environmental’s own workforce and customers from Ireland, Scotland and Malta.

After the competition a delicious meal was enjoyed by all and an array of beautiful prizes awarded to the winners. FM Environmental’s Marketing Manager Nicola Whyte thanked their suppliers who kindly sponsored the top prizes – Dave Dunne Controls, Daly Park & Co, Total Pipeline Specialist, S&S Communications, Victoria Engineering, Binders and SilverCraft.

FM Environmental Group Chairman, Eamonn Fitzpatrick extended a warm welcome to all who travelled to Warrenpoint and thanked the Golf Club for their excellent hospitability through the day and evening.

1st Prize (NET)- Motorised Golf Trolly Sponsored by Grundfos Pumps, Won by Garry Ferguson 39pts
Team Prize – Day Golfing to include meal in Warrenpoint Golf Club x 4 Sponsored by FM Environmental Ltd, Won by Team 2 – Best of top 3 scores
Gerry Daly, Michael McGrath, Gerry Murtagh 109pts
2nd Prize (NET)- 32”LCD TV Sponsored by Dave Dunne Controls, Won by Liam McElgunn 36pts
3rd Prize (NET)- Mobile Phone Sponsored by S & S Communications, Won by, Jim McCorry 34pts
4th Prize (NET)- Golf Bag Sponsored by Total Pipeline Solutions, Won by Eddie Curtis 33pts
5th Prize (NET)- Ipod Docker Sponsored by Daly Park & Co. Won by, Stephen Devlin 32pts better on back 9
Longest Drive on 17th hole – Russell Hobbs Coffee Maker Sponsored by Silvercraft, Malta. Won by, Nevin Trainor
Nearest the Pin on 6th hole – Lamp Sponsored by Daly Park & Co. Won by, Edgar Donaldson 177.5”
Yellow Ball Raffle – Digital Photo Frame Sponsored by Victoria Engineering, Won by Mickey Carr Team 9 FM/Grundfos Team Captain raffle for best player (NET) – Digital Internet Radio Sponsored by Silvercraft, Malta Won by Gerry Daly 41pts

Solid food waste is a major cause of sink blockages. Existing strainer devises usually cannot gurantee full retention of this waste or get clogged too quickly.

The SINK GUARD unit fits under the sink bowl and contains a food strainer basket that can be removed through the plug hole.

The fitting come complete with elfin connection which acts a standard U-Bend meaning that the Sink Guard wont take up any more space than a normal pipe fitting.

The Sink Guard is ideal for reducing solid build up in grease traps.

The unit can be easily retrofitted into existing 90mm plug holes.

For prices contact FM today
+44(0)2830266616 or gg@fmenvironmental.com