LuminUltra® and Microbe Detectives Advance Molecular Microbiological Control Solutions in Water and Wastewater

FREDERICTON, NB, CANADA – June 9, 2016 – LuminUltra, a New Brunswick, Canada-based innovator in microbiological monitoring and control solutions, and Microbe Detectives LLC, a Wisconsin-based pioneer in applied metagenomics services for water and wastewater systems, today announced a multi-year partnership.

Through the partnership, the two companies will combine their services to provide the only commercial offering that can measure and monitor microbiological concentration in real-time and also identify nearly 100% of microorganisms found in water and in what relative proportion. This information will make clear to water system operators both why control was lost and how to prevent similar future problems. This combined solution offering, which can both mitigate risk and reduce costs for customers in drinking water, wastewater and manufacturing industries, will be available through LuminUltra’s existing, extensive sales and distribution channels.

“Microbiological contamination of water processes can have a number of negative impacts, including infrastructure deterioration, poor product quality, environmental contamination and human health risks,” said Pat Whalen, CEO of LuminUltra. “Over the past 13 years, LuminUltra has been providing a solution that enables a more proactive approach to solving such problems. We believe that Microbe Detectives’ advanced metagenomics testing and reporting services will add significant value to our customers in helping to not only solve problems when they arise, but also prevent future occurrences.”

LuminUltra provides real-time, on-site microbiological monitoring and control products and services based on the company’s 2nd Generation ATP® (Adenosine Triphosphate) technology. This technology provides a fast and accurate means of quantifying total microbiological activity in water and wastewater processes, allowing operators to take real-time action to mitigate microbiological problems. When microbiological activity is detected above prescribed thresholds, Microbe Detectives can apply next-generation DNA sequencing technology and proprietary methods to identify nearly 100% of the microorganisms present, organize them based on their functional properties in a given application, and show the relative proportions of specific microorganism types present.

“The water microbiome is a fascinating, very important, and largely unexplored world,” said John Tillotson, CEO of Microbe Detectives. “This new partnership will empower innovators in water with an unprecedented opportunity to gain new insights and advance the performance of their products and systems with a single-source solution.”

Learn more at: http://www.luminultra.com/getoutofthedark/

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For more information, please contact:

Stacey Pineau
LuminUltra
506-478-0596
media@luminultra.com

John Tillotson
Microbe Detectives
630-310-9353
john.tillotson@microbedetectives.com

About LuminUltra
LuminUltra is a provider microbial monitoring solutions that deliver real-time feedback on microbiological content in water. The company’s suite of rapid microbiological test kits, equipment and analytical software are used in the drinking water, wastewater and manufacturing industries. Founded in 2003, LuminUltra serves thousands of customers via dozens of sales network partners operating around the world from its headquarters in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

About Microbe Detectives
Microbe Detectives opens a new window into the microbial world of water and wastewater systems using proprietary metagenomic and data science services. We revolutionize opportunities to mitigate risk, improve capital and operating efficiencies and validate product performance. The company was founded in 2013 by Trevor Ghylin during his PhD work in Environmental and Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Microbe Detectives is a winner of the Water Council’s World-Class Start-up Accelerator – BREW, and has validated its services with over 100 customers including AO Smith, CH2M, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), and Novozymes. https://microbedetectives.com/