FM Environmental, a water and waste treatment equipment and engineering specialist, has recently gained approval from Dubai Municipality for its Grease Guardian – an innovative automatic mechanical grease separator for drainage systems.

This approval will help the company to further consolidate its presence in the UAE market, says a spokesman for the Malta-based company.
A joint venture between FM Environmental of Northern Ireland and a Maltese partner, the company has been serving the Gulf from its well-equipped bases in Malta and in Los Angeles, US.
“We have a strong representation in the UAE and have appointed Dubai-based Al Fardan Trading to market our state-of-the-art the Grease Guardian in the local market,” says Mario Duca, FM Environmental’s managing director.
The company, which has been mainly targeting small residential communities, the hospitality sector and individual residences and villas in the Arabian Gulf, is recognised globally for providing solutions based on cutting-edge technology.
The massive investment it has made in research and development and designs has resulted in a comprehensive range of wastewater treatment plants, which has opened up doors for the firm in the Middle East market.
Grease Guardian has been a success at many top hotels and restaurants worldwide, due to its high efficiency and minimal maintenance. Dubai’s Towers Rotana Hotel – which subsequently won a Mena (Middle East and North Africa) platinum award for the best environmental four-star hotel – was the first hotel in the UAE to install the units, says Duca.
“The fact that Grease Guardian has been approved by municipal authorities of Dubai is further assurance that our products meet the stringent wastewater effluent requirements of the UAE,” he adds.
By removing all fats, oils, grease and solids from kitchen wastewater at source, without the use of chemicals, the product eliminates the possibility of a blockage in the drainpipe network, which would require a downtime period for hotel operators to carry out repairs, he explains.
“This technology also eliminates the costs incurred by many hotel operators to regularly clean their conventional grease traps or any chemical consumables used to remove oils and fits,” Duca points out.
“Another positive aspect of the Grease Guardian is that the waste oil can be recycled to produce bio-diesel, detergents, and additives for road surfacing. Equipped with an optional remote monitoring and control solution, the device can be operated by hotel engineering staff through a local area network or over the Internet,” he indicates.
Apart from the Grease Guardian, FM Environmental designs and manufactures a wide range of packaged sewage treatments plants, offering solutions for various applications ranging from single villas to communities with a population of 10,000.
“We have an edge over the competition because of our ability to offer custom-designed solutions,” Duca explains.
Apart from supplying an extensive range of products from the FM portfolio to the Maltese market as well as other European countries, FM Environmental is directly responsible for marketing in the Mediteranean, Gulf and Middle East regions.
“Our export markets stretch from Ireland, UK and a number of other EU countries, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, UAE up to Australia,” he says.
Over the past few years, FM Environmental (Malta) has implemented an aggressive export marketing strategy, which has resulted in the opening of new export markets, and the company expects a promising performance in the coming year.
“Despite competition in the global marketplace, we are achieving various breakthroughs in our target markets. Our participation in Dubai’s Hotel Show and the Big 5 Show has given us many leads which the company has followed up successfully,” he concludes.