Co-working spaces are popping up in most sizable metro areas to meet demand from freelancers who can work from anywhere and corporate employees who can work remotely, as well as entrepreneurs who seek to be around others even when their work is solitary.

Now, a co-working space specifically for the water technology sector has been created in Milwaukee by The Water Council, the membership organization that represents Wisconsin’s water cluster.

The Water Council officially announced the opening of this space, named the Oasis Co-working Community, at the Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) today in Chicago.

To create this new space, The Water Council reformatted parts of the second and third floor of the Global Water Center with flexible workspace options to suit the needs of Wisconsin entrepreneurs and small businesses as well as companies from abroad.

Amenities at the Oasis include fully furnished and ready-to-go desk space; high-speed internet; personalized signage; flexible lease options; unique networking opportunities; access to technical assistance, research partnerships and seminars; and access to Global Water Center amenities such as a kitchen, auditorium, conference room, lab space, a concierge desk, mail service and locked storage.

“Businesses are calling us on a weekly basis interested in opening a small office in Milwaukee, to connect with Wisconsin’s water technology cluster or to establish an entrance into the U.S. market,” said Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of The Water Council. “Our initiatives were developed to broaden our cluster’s new business opportunities and to expand new industry cluster participants. The Oasis lets the powerful formula of collisions, conversations and collaboration that we’ve seen in the Global Water Center work at a whole new level.”

The Oasis was developed in conjunction with The Water’s Council’s focus on providing a “soft landing” for companies looking to enter or expand into the U.S. market. The co-working space provides not only a physical location for companies to set up shop while they seek a more permanent office, but also a community that can help them make connections to potential customers, distributors, partners and investors depending on the company’s needs.

The Water Council recently announced the first three companies taking advantage of these “soft landing” services:

  • Odyssee Environnement from France, which produces chemicals dedicated to industrial water to combat corrosion and scaling of steam boilers, cooling towers and more, offering organic, green solutions based on polyamine technology
  • Helio Pur Technologies from France, which specializes in water savings, water management optimization, wastewater treatment, reuse and recovery of industrial, agricultural and residential wastewater; and
  • Aquor from Mexico, a private equity firm dedicated to distribution, manufacturing, assembly and installation of water- and fluid-related products and services; with a history that spans more than 60 years, Aquor’s vision is to be Latin America’s largest water solutions company, with a global presence.

Check back on the Events Blog in the coming days for further coverage of Wisconsin’s presence at WEFTEC.