Johnson Matthey, a publicly traded specialty chemicals company headquartered in the United Kingdom, acquired the Albuquerque-based water purification firm MIOX Corp. in April for an undisclosed price.
MIOX, a venture-backed company that launched in Albuquerque in 1994, uses a proprietary, environmentally-friendly process for industrial-scale water purification. Its systems are used worldwide by municipalities and commercial businesses in everything from swimming pools and food and beverage operations to hotels and oil and gas operations.
Johnson Matthey, which reported over $3 billion in sales last year, is expanding its footprint in the water industry through a new water technologies business division that it formed in 2013. MIOX will join that division, which is developing and marketing advanced technologies to treat contaminants and bacteria in industrial water systems.
“MIOX was one of two companies acquired recently by that division,” said MIOX President and CEO Craig Beckman. “MIOX has had good growth in recent years and Johnson Matthey views this industry as a strong growth area.”
The new owners expect to maintain MIOX operations at its current 64,000-square-foot factory near Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park, Beckman said.
“At this point, Johnson Matthey intends to keep its employees in New Mexico,” he said. “The plan is to remain here.”
Beckman would not discuss current workforce totals. But the company had reported about 50 employees in Albuquerque as of 2013.
