We give water a new life
A look back at 30 years of INTEWA
It all started 30 years ago: One man, one book, one idea. Which man? Oliver Ringelstein, in the middle of his mechanical engineering studies, but looking for something bigger and more significant. Which book? "The last Oasis" by Sandra Postel, a work about a looming water crisis that keeps spreading. The idea? Start a company that addresses these challenges, because: The valuable resource of water is constantly becoming scarcer, technical solutions to counteract this problem must be developed.
So the objective was found, the studies were completed and all doors were open: An engineering company specializing in energy technology and specifically in the topic of water, that's it! And Aachen was the perfect place for it. The city's name comes from the ancient Germanic word "Ahha", which means "water". Therefore, quite aptly: "nomen est omen" and water the focus of the technical developments of the newly founded Aachen-based company: INTEWA.
Water is more than an element
The idea that rainwater can be used for more than just flushing it down the drain, that's where it all started. The idea was as simple as it was ingenious. The water is low in lime, has virtually no pollutants that could otherwise be added from the ground, and is also a real asset economically, because it comes free of charge from the sky; ideally suited, therefore, for a wide variety of uses, such as the washing machine, flushing the toilet, or irrigation.
A small, dedicated team developed the first technical product for optimal use, which simply pumps the collected rainwater to the consumer and, in the event of a water shortage, switches over to the drinking water supply in a DVGW-certified manner: the RAINMASTER.
And this was only the beginning. The possible sources that opened up for the treatment and reuse of water of any kind were almost limitless. Now a perfect filter was still missing. After an intensive development phase, the PURAIN was created, which, with its alternating jump principle imitating nature, can easily filter and rinse away leaves and small particles. In this way, nature serves us as a model for the development of innovative water technology.
The previous technologies were good and provided a solid basis, but there was one thing we were always particularly proud of: being ahead of the trend. As society became more aware of growing environmental problems and increasing scarcity of resources, the demand for sustainable solutions also increased. A highlight became AQUALOOP, an installation kit consisting of many different components that can be used to filter out even the smallest particles, such as bacteria and viruses, from various water sources. This development raised the quality of purified water to a new level. New treatment processes, such as drinking water production from rainwater or greywater recycling, could now be realized with this technology. We attach particular importance to the fact that our graywater recycling plants even pay for themselves financially within a few years. Today, I-CONNECT technology enables convenient monitoring and control of all INTEWA commercial systems worldwide, around the clock.
But not only water scarcity, but also water surplus leads to problems, e.g. in the context of heavy rain events and floods. INTEWA has developed the next technical solution for this: The DRAINMAX tunnel trench. The inspiration for this underground decentralized temporary storage came from the art of building. The geometry of a half-shell provides the largest volume and highest stability with the least amount of material, and is ideal for buffering large volumes of water, allowing it to slowly percolate into the ground, or to be discharged into the sewer system at a later date.
From vision to mission
As the need for sustainable water management and the high potential of water treatment were recognized globally, it was only a matter of time before we extended our feelers to other regions of our planet. Our products can now be found in more than 21 countries, and through our growing network of international partners, this number is constantly increasing.
But all this would not have been possible without a dedicated and motivated team and the proximity to the renowned RWTH Aachen university. The close professional exchange was and still is a source of inspiration for the development, which made the name INTEWA international grow into a serious contender in the segment of water harvesting and stormwater management already in the 2010s.
"Water is our element", this was the slogan that started it all. But for us, water has become much more than just an element. We live water and like the god Poseidon, who according to Greek mythology once gave man a spring of water from a rock with his trident, we too want to use all sources available worldwide to be able to supply people with a safe supply of drinking water. Because for us, water treatment is the key to a source of water that never runs dry.
But enough of words, it's the deeds that count! And we don't even have to go far to do that, we stay at home - in our company building, which we moved to in 2019 and which is bubbling over with our ideas. Equipped with the most diverse technologies, which we ourselves have been preaching about for years, we have managed to operate the building self-sufficiently in water - no one else can claim this so far - and also energy-neutral. Thus, the new INTEWA building provides an ecological role model in the technically innovative and sustainable building design.
Giving new life to rainwater and wastewater
But long story short, the topic of water continues to grow in importance. This is not only due to the climatic changes taking place, but also due to society itself, which is making these issues more and more present.
We are neither getting tired nor unimaginative when it comes to the future of water technology. Meanwhile, our systems save 5 million cubic meters of water and infiltrate 8 million cubic meters each year. With projects such as AIX-NET-WWR and AgRAIN, we are once again pioneering forward-looking visions of a sustainable, decentralized and economical way forward for the city and the country. Now we look forward to working with our partners and customers to take the future of water reuse and stormwater management to the next level, because this success story and our technical innovations are far from over.
We have a concrete vision and have been pursuing it for 30 years, because water is not only our element but also our passion.