Department dean, Dr Supot Teachavorasin-skum signed a memorandum of understanding with SN Group, a leading provider of total water solutions in Thailand and the Asean nations, to develop business models from the university’s water-treatment related research and development. Katevalee Napasab, chairperson and CEO of S.Napa (Thailand) Co Ltd signed the MoU for the company.

S.Napa (Thailand) was established in 1962 to provide water treatment for households and swimming pools. It later expanded into water pollution treatments for industrial and municipal sectors, and then wastewater treatments for the industrial sector.

In 2000, S.Napa worked with the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) to operate and manage utilities in industrial estates all over Thailand under the name of Global Utilities Services Co Ltd (GUSCO).

SN Group saw this latest collaboration with Chulalongkorn University as an opportunity to expand into the basic building blocks of the business chain – the development of technologies.

The project is intended to bring knowledge, networks and experience from R&D to improve the nation’s competitiveness and to reach the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy, and other national strategic plans including Smart City.

Other objectives include collectively learning from real practices to develop new innovations in order to enhance society, and improving and promoting staff, researchers and experts in environmental engineering in Thailand.

Katevalee said the project would strengthen and promote the importance of research and development in areas of water management and environmental services. Doing so would make critical contributions to society in an increasingly challenged world, he said.