About Fenton Environmental Technologies
In the early 1980s the metal plating industry had difficulties disposing of the hazardous metal hydroxide sludge output from surface finishers. The EPA targeted this industry as a significant polluter — something had to be done for the industry to remain viable. One manufacturer had an idea for a dryer that would reduce the volume of the sludge by about 4:1, making responsible disposal easier and cheaper. The dryer was a success, and this was the genesis of the firm that became Fenton.
In the mid-1980s this company delivered about 600 dryers, creating a profitable niche market for Fenton, which is named after the founder, Jim Needham's father. By 1990 the company was considering applying its technology to the paper pulp industry, which had the same need for reducing its waste output. Jim Needham, however, suggested a different industry entirely. Driving back from a paper trade show, Dan Bolton and Dave Bigham sketched out the design for a municipal wastewater sludge dryer on the dashboard of their truck.
This design was the basis for the success of Fenton Environmental Technologies. In the years since, Fenton has pioneered the development of indirect thermal sludge drying technology, continually updating and improving it. Fenton dryers are the safest biosolids dryers available, and the easiest to run and maintain, with more US installations than any other dryer. Fenton also licenses dryer technology to one of the largest wastewater treatment equipment suppliers in the world.