GO Water Chemistry

What GO Water Chemistry does

GEH Wasserchemie GmbH & Co. KG, operating under the brand GO Water Chemistry, is a privately held German specialty-chemical manufacturer headquartered in Osnabrück and founded in 1997. The company develops, produces, and sells a patented granular ferric hydroxide adsorbent (GEH®) based on iron oxide hydroxide, which is used to bind and remove arsenic, lead, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, zinc, phosphate, and uranium from drinking water, industrial and municipal wastewater, process water, mineral/spring water, stormwater runoff, and eutrophicated surface water bodies. A kilogram of GEH® has an active surface area equivalent to approximately 30 football pitches, and the company claims up to five-times the adsorption performance and up to 100% higher treatment capacity versus competing products, with a product lifespan of up to five years. Production is concentrated at the Osnabrück site at a scale of roughly 1,500 tonnes annually (with nameplate capacity expanded to 2,500 tonnes in 2013), and the material is deployed at more than 2,000 sites across 73 countries.

The business makes money primarily through one-time sales of GEH® adsorption material (sold in flexible delivery quantities worldwide via direct sales and international sales partners) and complementary professional services: GEH® Anlagenberatung (plant consultation for system planning) and GEH® Performance-Check (evaluation and optimization of existing installations). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled through direct technical consultation. Customers are predominantly municipal water utilities and government customers, with marquee references including the City of Berlin, City of Dortmund, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an arsenic remediation project in Nizza di Sicilia (Italy, with Grundfos), and a groundwater remediation plant in Barasat, West Bengal, India. Five use-case segments are addressed: drinking water, industrial and municipal wastewater, mineral and table water, environmental water protection (phosphate removal), and stormwater.

GEH's go-to-market is enterprise field sales combined with technical consultation, supported by a multi-language website presence, LinkedIn, YouTube, and technical/industry publication content. The company holds the original patent for manufacturing granular iron hydroxide for water treatment, contributed to the DIN EN 15029 European standard (2005), and maintains NSF/ANSI 61, ISO 9001/14001/50001 (TÜV NORD), and REACH certifications. Ownership is held by three directors (Wilhelm Depping, Heinz Fischer, Ulrich Mentrup) through the Komplementär GEH Wasserchemie Beteiligungs-GmbH; no external investors are disclosed.

Name

GO Water Chemistry

Legal name

GEH Wasserchemie GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://geh-wasserchemie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GEH Wasserchemie manufactures and globally sells a patented granular ferric hydroxide adsorbent (GEH®) used by municipal water utilities, governments, and industrial operators in 73 countries to remove arsenic, heavy metals, phosphate, and uranium from drinking water, wastewater, and process water.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Treatment Chemicals (Adsorbent Materials)

NAICS

Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing (325180), Chemical Manufacturing (325)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Treatment Adsorbents (GAC/PAC/Media) (IMAEAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAN), Adsorption & Taste/Odor Control (GAC/PAC, Air Stripping) (EUANABAF)

Keywords

• Water treatment chemicals
• Heavy metal adsorption
• Arsenic removal solutions
• Industrial water purification
• Wastewater treatment materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Osnabrück

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. GEH® Adsorbent Material Sales: Sale of proprietary granular ferric hydroxide adsorbent material GEH® for water treatment applications including drinking water, wastewater, and industrial process water treatment. The company manufactures products at their Osnabrück headquarters and delivers worldwide. Annual production exceeds 1,500 tonnes.
2. Technical Consultation Services: GEH-Anlagenberatung (plant consultation) and GEH-Performance-Check services for planning, optimizing, and evaluating water treatment systems.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GO Water Chemistry (GEH Wasserchemie) manufactures and sells GEH®, a patented granular ferric hydroxide adsorption material based on iron oxide hydroxide, used to bind and remove heavy metals (including arsenic, lead, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, zinc), uranium, and phosphate from drinking water, industrial and municipal wastewater, mineral water, stormwater runoff, and process water. The company also provides GEH® Anlagenberatung (system consultation) for plant planning and GEH® Performance-Check for evaluating and optimizing existing installations.

Product overview

GEH Wasserchemie offers a portfolio centered on its patented GEH® granular ferric hydroxide adsorption material for water treatment. The core product line includes the main GEH® adsorption granulate used across drinking water, wastewater, and process water applications, with a specific variant GEH® 102 optimized for arsenic removal. The company complements its material sales with two service offerings: GEH® Anlagenberatung (system consultation) for plant planning and GEH® Performance-Check for evaluating existing installations. The portfolio is completed by DVGW worksheet guidance (W 249) for regulatory compliance in German-speaking markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GEH®: Patented granular ferric hydroxide adsorption material for water treatment. Used for heavy metal removal, arsenic removal, and phosphate removal from drinking water, wastewater, and process water. The company states it is the market leader with over 1,500 tonnes produced annually and is used in 73 countries worldwide.

Products and services

• GEH® Granular Ferric Hydroxide Adsorbent Patented granular ferric hydroxide adsorption material based on iron oxide hydroxide that binds heavy metals (arsenic, lead, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, zinc), uranium and phosphate and removes them from water without altering natural water properties. Manufactured at the Osnabrück headquarters and sold globally for drinking water, wastewater, and process water treatment at over 2,000 sites across 73 countries. A kilogram of GEH® has a surface area equivalent to 30 football pitches and provides up to five-times the adsorption performance and up to 100% higher treatment capacity compared to rival products, with product lifespans of up to 5 years.
• GEH® 102 Arsenic Removal Adsorbent Specific variant of the GEH® granular ferric hydroxide adsorbent optimized for arsenic removal from drinking water. Successfully deployed in municipal water treatment plants, including the Grundfos-built arsenic removal plant in Nizza di Sicilia, Sicily, which restored safe drinking water to the municipality after 275 days without potable water. Targeted at municipal water utilities and government authorities facing arsenic contamination in groundwater.
• GEH® Anlagenberatung (System Consultation) Plant consultation and planning advisory service for customers implementing GEH® adsorption systems to remove heavy metals and other hazardous substances from water. Targeted at enterprises and municipalities planning new GEH® installations, with direct technical support from GEH Wasserchemie's engineering team.
• GEH® Performance-Check Performance evaluation service for existing GEH® systems that identifies optimization opportunities, prevents malfunctions, reduces costs, and increases operational safety. Targeted at current GEH® system operators across municipal and industrial sites to maximize treatment efficiency and extend asset life.

Quantifiable outcome

• 190 million m³ of water treated annually with GEH®
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GrundfoscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2025Grundfos partnered with GEH Wasserchemie for the construction of an arsenic removal plant in Nizza di Sicilia, Sicily. Grundfos built the treatment plant which was equipped with GEH® 102 adsorption material. The project successfully restored safe drinking water to the municipality after 275 days without potable water. The collaboration demonstrates successful joint execution of water treatment infrastructure projects.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• LANXESS: Large German specialty chemicals company with a dedicated water-treatment business (ion-exchange, adsorbents, process chemicals). Comparable because it supplies similar drinking-water and industrial-water treatment chemistries, though as a much broader portfolio player rather than a focused iron-hydroxide specialist.
• Ecolab (Water & Process Services): Global water-treatment chemicals and services provider serving industrial, institutional and municipal customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent supplying water-treatment chemistry and service contracts that intersect GEH's industrial and municipal segments.
• Cabot Corporation: Global specialty chemicals and performance materials company with activated-carbon and specialty adsorbent products for water treatment. Comparable as a competing specialty adsorbent supplier in municipal and industrial water purification.
• BASF: Global chemical major with water-treatment and process-chemical offerings serving municipal and industrial customers. Comparable as a competing source of water-treatment adsorbents/coagulants, though FAR broader in scope than GEH Wasserchemie.

Direct peers

• Donau Carbon: European producer of activated carbon and specialty adsorbent media for drinking-water and industrial process-water treatment. Comparable as a competing adsorbent media manufacturer serving municipal and industrial customers in DACH/Europe.
• Purolite (Ecolab): Producer of ion-exchange resins and specialty adsorbents used to remove heavy metals (including arsenic) from drinking water and industrial process streams. Direct competitor in the heavy-metal/arsenic removal media category.
• Calgon Carbon (Kuraray): Manufacturer of activated-carbon and adsorbent media for drinking-water and process-water treatment (now part of Kuraray). Closely comparable as a direct competitor in adsorption media for contaminant removal from drinking water and process streams.

Emerging players

• AdEdge Water Technologies: US-based provider of adsorption and filtration systems for arsenic, iron, manganese and uranium removal from drinking water. Comparable niche player targeting the same municipal arsenic/heavy-metal remediation use cases as GEH®, though focused on packaged systems.

Regional players

• Sülzle Group (Sülzle Wasserchemie): German family-owned water-treatment chemicals specialist serving industrial and municipal customers with coagulants, flocculants and process chemicals. Comparable as a regional German competitor in water-treatment chemistry for similar municipal and industrial use cases.
• Thermax (Thermax Water & Environment): Indian conglomerate with water and wastewater treatment chemicals and systems serving industrial and municipal customers across South Asia. Comparable as a regional water-treatment chemistry supplier with overlapping municipal heavy-metal work, especially in India where GEH® also operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/geh-wasserchemie-gmbh-%26-co-kg

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GO Water Chemistry