AZUR Environmental is New Name for Microbics Corporation

Microbics Corporation has announced a name change to AZUR Environmental in conjunction with its strengthened strategic scope and a broader range of environmental monitoring systems in its product line. The company recently formed two business alliances to co-develop and bring to market new technologies. With headquarters in Carlsbad, California, the firm produces testing systems for monitoring the quality and safety of water, soils, and other environmental resources. These systems can be used in a wide range of drinking water and municipal/industrial wastewater applications. They use luminescent microorganisms as bio-sensors which respond to the materials being tested.

The cornerstone products of the business are the Microtox toxicity systems. They provide rapid screening and confirmation results which are economical and easy to obtain with these procedures. The company said that 2,000 sites worldwide have acquired the systems, and that over 500 peer-reviewed scientific articles have been published. Also, the systems are said to have been approved in regulations or standards in eight European countries, and are in final review in Canada for International Standards Organization (ISO) approval. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing new regulatory guidelines to approve innovative, proven technologies, such as the Microtox method.

Azur has formed strategic alliances with Siemens Environmental Systems Ltd. and Nalco Chemical Company to address what the firm sees as unmet needs in the growing environmental monitoring and quality assurance business area.