Biofouling Control
Technology

Bill Blume

Bill Blume received his BSChE from Purdue University and his MBA from New York University.

In 1978 he saw a need for foreign shipyard and ship repair yard representation in the USA, so he founded Blume Worldwide Services (BWS). Through his discussions with shipowners, he learned that marine growth (barnacles, mussels, etc) was plugging their intake pipes and fouling coolers, condensers, etc. He discovered the use of ionic copper for solving this problem and as a result the Blume Antifouling System became widely used for protecting ships, offshore drilling rigs and oil & gas production.

In 1987 zebra mussels, a non-indigenous species, were introduced into Lake St, Clair. Zebra mussels spread and quickly reproduced so extensively that municipal and industrial facilities were being either shut down or severely impacted. Bill quickly recognized the opportunity presented for ionic copper to come to the rescue. He and Tom Fitzgerald joined forces to develop Blume Worldwide Services’s sea water technology to make it useable in fresh water and, in 1991, incorporated MacroTech® to commercially develop and market MacroTech’s® Copper Ion Generators (CIG). Since then, CIG’s are being used successfully to protect dozens of facilities.

Tom Fitzgerald

Tom Fitzgerald received his BS in Metallurgy and Material Science from Lehigh University.

He began his professional career with Airco Industrial Gases where he worked in the Commercial Development of synthetic heat-treating atmospheres.

In 1983 began managing the operations of Mohawk Manufacturing, a fabricator of ASME pressure vessels and of skid piping systems, including Blume Antifouling System skids. He later became President of Mohawk.

In 1991 he joined Bill Blume to begin developing the MacroTech® Copper Ion Generator for freshwater bio-fouling control. This system was the first commercially available system of its kind. He is responsible for design and manufacturing.