Sionix Corp., an Irvine maker of water filtration systems, said it has seen a surge in calls from municipalities nationwide after a Florida death due to anthrax.
“We’ve been inundated with inquiries since the anthrax scare,” said Sionix Chief Executive Jim Houtz. “U.S. water utilities are interested,especially Southeastern states.”
The company recently launched its product with a $500,000 price tag, with dozens of orders shipping to major cities in China as well as to Indonesia and the Philippines, Houtz said.
Sionix, which trades on the low-profile over-the-counter exchange for pennies a share, said its water filtration unit is cheaper on average than what municipal water utilities have in place.
It’s also smaller and requires little ongoing maintenance, according to Houtz.
Sionix’s product, a system made up of modules in order to keep costs down, is capable of filtering out materials smaller than the anthrax virus, according to the company.
Sionix said it currently knows of no direct competitor for the product.
Sonix is small but said it plans to grow its Orange County staff from six to 35 people in the next year and plans to move the bulk of its outsourced manufacturing and assembly in-house.
“We’re talking with The Irvine Company to take 25,000 square feet nearby,” Houtz said.
The space will include a fabrication assembly area. Eventually, the company also will move its offices to that new space, Houtz said.
Sionix’s current offices are 4,000 square feet.
Houtz said in the next year the company could acquire a current outsourcing vendor, Orange-based RJ Metals Corp., a metal fabricator for special requirements industries and the aerospace sector.
Also, within the next four months, Sionix plans to acquire the environmental products division of another of its outsourcing vendors, Rancho Cucamonga filtration system maker Hoffinger Industries.
“We’re planning to move that division over here to Irvine,” Houtz said.
Earlier this year, Sionix enlisted Irvine-based iCapital Corp. as its investment bank.
Sionix also is targeting military clients, pharmaceutical makers, hospitals and the food and beverage industry. n
