By TR Robertson Some photos supplied by Applied Membranes, Inc.
In his garage in 1983, Dr. Gil Dhawan might not have realized that one day he would be the founder and owner of a company that is this nation’s leader in the membrane technology field specializing in the commercialization and manufacture of membranes and membrane technology in the water treatment industry, now celebrating 40 years of service.
Dr. Dhawan had worked in the membrane technology field since 1972, but 1983 was a pivotal year when his company was founded. He also began giving seminars on reverse osmosis systems which also led to consulting work and working in the technical field of membrane installation helping him gain the capital needed to move into a 1,000 square foot facility in San Marcos. It was in this facility where he started building RO systems and had his first major customer, a pharmaceutical customer. By 1986, Applied Membranes Inc. had signed their first major product development contract with the Eastman Kodak Company. Their first large commercial system was sold overseas in Hong Kong in 1988. By 1989 Applied Membranes Inc. had grown out of smaller space in San Marcos and Dr. Dhawan purchased a 15,000 square foot building, also in San Marcos. By 1990, Applied Membranes was manufacturing residential membrane cartridges. All the while, the company was growing, expanding, and developing different types of systems for a variety of different commercial industries. Outgrowing the San Marcos facilities led to several moves in Vista, each time to a larger facility, eventual building the current home of Applied Membranes, Inc. Their current location is a 150,000 square foot building at the corner of Sycamore and Business Park Drive. This location handles all operations including manufacturing, engineering, warehousing, sales, factory testing, shipment, and online distribution for both commercial and residential customers.
Applied Membrane systems are used in over 200 countries around the world. AMI products have earned an industry-wide reputation for their technical expertise, high quality, and superior performance. They manufacture water filtration systems for all instances where reverse osmosis, seawater desalination, ultrafiltration and other membrane water treatment systems are needed. Their Certified Water Experts and Engineers can create custom programs as needed. Applied Membranes services a wide range of markets such as Agriculture, Horticulture and Landscaping, Beverages, Boiler Feed Water, Dairy Processing, Food Processing, Hydroponics & Cannabis Cultivation, Pilot Plants, Wastewater Reuse, Pharmaceutical USP Water, Microelectronics and Semiconductor Rinse Water, Disaster Relief and Mobile Water Treatment, Marine and Ships, CPI Chemical Processing, Hospitality-Hotel-Resort-Restaurants, and Car Wash and Spotless Rinse.
The list of Featured Projects Applied Membranes has undertaken is lengthy, varied and impressive. Some of these include a Groundwater Re-use Treatment System installed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; a Trailer-Mounted Seawater ROWPU system for the UN Military Disaster Relief; a Zero Liquid Discharge Wastewater Treatment for water re-use in a Textile Plant in Puebla, Mexico; a Containerized Seawater Desalination Plant for Mining Operations in Peru; and a Turnkey Water Treatment Reclaim System for Wastewater in a Food Processing Plant; just to name a few.
One of the most impressive and beneficial projects Applied Membranes took on was the completion of 400 solar powered portable Clean-water Treatment units for 400 villages in Iraq, needed to be built, completed and shipped in four months. These villages did not have clean, safe drinking water and were suffering from outbreaks of cholera as a result. In order to complete this on time, Applied Membranes rented 2 additional buildings, strictly used for this project, set up a 24 hour a day assembly line to complete the units. The solar powered portion for the project was designed by Mark Snyder Electric. AMI also trained 20 people for one month, teaching them how to run the units in Iraq as well as teaching others. These solar powered units, still in use today, can supply 30-50,000 gallons of clean drinking water to the villagers.
Some of the companies AMI has supplied systems for or provided consulting services for include major national and international companies such as San Diego Gas & Electric, DOW Chemical, Fiesta Americana, Stone Brewing, Sparklets, Pepsi and Coca Cola, Mr. Baker Kidney, City of Redding, City of Fairbanks, Mexico City, Hydranautics, Bahamas Oil Refining, General Motors, Northrop, Cozumel Hotel and many, many more.
Applied Membranes prides itself in that all of their systems and parts are made in the USA in their ISO 9001-2015 Certified Facility. These systems and parts are available in a large range of both residential and commercial styles and sizes. They feel their 40 years of experience with thousands of different systems helps them deal with a wide variety of situations where their systems might be needed.
Applied Membranes Inc. has received numerous awards including a Special Congressional Recognition in 2022 for their economic contribution to the community; a Certificate of Appreciation from Teziatlan Puebla, Mexico, for their wastewater re-use installation; a U.S. Department of Commerce Recognition to Dr. Dhawan for his work in Environmental Technologies on the Trade Advisory Committee; and a President’s “E” Award for Exports, the highest recognition a US entity can receive. They have also been nominated for a Vista Chamber of Commerce Heroes of Vista Large Business Category Award. These are but a few of the award’s AMI has received over the years.
Dr. Dhawan said they are very proud of the work the company has done in supplying billions of gallons of pure water daily, treating seawater, brackish water, groundwater and recycled water for cities, companies and the public. If you would like more information on Applied Membranes Inc. go to their website at www.appliedmembranes.com.
