ERMA FIRST acquires German marine water treatment specialists RWO

Jun 15 2021


Fast growing ballast water equipment manufacturer ERMA FIRST has acquired German marine water specialist RWO GmbH.

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Bremen, RWO provides water and wastewater treatment systems for ships, ports and offshore installations and is a market leader in bilge water separation systems. RWO’s product portfolio includes the treatment of drinking and process water, oily waters, ballast, wastewater as well as a comprehensive range of after sales spare parts and services. Over 16,000 ships have been equipped with RWO’s oil water separators since 1975.

ERMA FIRST Managing Director Konstantinos Stampedakis said:

“This is a win for ERMA FIRST and a win for RWO’s customers and staff. We have acquired a world leader in water treatment systems for the shipping industry with a strong customer base and a reputation for excellence and reliability. We ourselves have a track record of innovation with our ballast water technologies and are well known for our high-quality engineering and customer first ethos. We are committed to building on the past 46 years of RWO experience and help take the company, its products and people to the next level of international success.”

He added: 

“All RWO products will continue to be made and engineered in Germany and there will be no changes to RWO’s engineering workforce or global aftersales network. Service agreements with all current customers remain unchanged.”

RWO’s product range includes systems and monitoring for:

  • Bilge water treatment
  • Sewage treatment
  • Desalinisation
  • Ballast water treatment
  • Process water treatment


Since its launch in 2009, ERMA FIRST has installed its ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) on more than 2,500 ships. Over the last 14 years, ERMA FIRST has set the standard for effective ballast water treatment with superior operational readiness, build quality and ease of use. ERMA FIRST is widely recognised as one of the top BWTS makers worldwide.



Related News

You can go filterless – with chlorine dioxide treatment technology

(Mar 08 2022)

You can go filterless if your ballast water management system uses chlorine dioxide technology, because its effectiveness is not reduced by any sediment, says Andrew Marshall, CEO of ballast water management system manufacturer Ecochlor.



Factors to consider with filters

(Mar 08 2022)

Mark Riggio, head of marine with Filtersafe, shares advice about what shipping companies should consider, when deciding whether or not to buy a ballast water filter and what to buy.



Optimarin achieves record revenue in 2021 on rising BWTS sales

(Feb 17 2022)

Optimarin notched up record revenue last year on sales of its industry-leading ballast water treatment system (BWTS) as it overcame market challenges to accelerate deliveries in response to rising demand and tight installation schedules.



Optimarin expands global sales team in market push for BWT retrofits and newbuilds

(Jan 20 2022)

Optimarin has bolstered its global sales force with new appointments in Turkey, Hong Kong and Singapore to serve customers better in response to increasing demand for its industry-leading ballast water treatment system (BWTS).



Optimarin riding the wave of BWT retrofit demand surge

(Nov 18 2021)

The market is heating up for ballast water treatment (BWT) systems amid a retrofit rush that has resulted in a recent surge of orders for leading supplier Optimarin – and it says fast-track delivery is vital to meet soaring demand.



Jan-March 2025

SIRE 2.0 inspections - Tanker Operator Hamburg report - ammonia turbines the future of propulsion?