CASE STUDY
RPM Water Equity Solutions
Industry
Industrial Water
Sector
Evaporation Credits
Application
Fleet Deployment and Management
Project Type
Custom Deployment
01
Background
RPM Water Equity Solutions, Dallas TX, is an industrial water management company specializing in evaporation credits. Evaporation credits are financial rebates from municipalities for businesses with cooling towers or other evaporative systems, allowing them to reduce sewer charges for water that evaporates (does not go down the drain) instead of being fully charged for all incoming water. By installing separate meters for makeup and blowdown water, RPM manages the data and files the paperwork to prove evaporation loss, saving significant money, often with a quick return on investment, and sometimes earning LEED points.
RPM is able to utilize low-cost components that are sufficient at effectively gathering the data but stayed away from more conventional PLC based systems, due to a lack of expertise and experience. This limited the value they could bring to their clients.
02
Problem
RPM was contacted by one of their clients (exceptionally large telecom company) to check if their system conformed to TLS1.3 security protocol. The client explained this was non-negotiable, and that expansion of the RPM service to other sites would be halted until the protocol was met. At the time RPM had X deployments with XX still to come. TLS 1.3 is the most recent version of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, designed to provide enhanced security and performance for encrypted communications over the internet. The key features of TLS 1.3 are improved security, faster handshakes, and forward secrecy.
Faced with the possibility of losing the business entirely and knowing they had to move fast, Robert Mabry at RPM spent a week looking into alternative solutions. He found that none of the hardware manufacturers they used could guarantee TLS 1.3 compliance. They were at a loss to find and implement a solution quickly.
03
Solution
03
Results
Within two weeks of deployment, RPM not only met TLS 1.3 compliance requirements but gained capabilities that transformed their service offering.
CoStream provided a higher level of notifications/alarms, automated reports, and even monitoring of additional I/O points utilizing a PLC that they were avoiding in the past due to lack of expertise and support.
The three most valuable benefits of working with CoStream were:
Speed to Market. Two weeks from order to deployment meant RPM could respond to their client's non-negotiable deadline and avoid a contract freeze that would have blocked expansion to additional sites.
Technical Support. CoStream's remote monitoring and support team eliminated RPM's need to develop in-house PLC expertise, allowing them to focus on their core water management business.
Application Capabilities. The platform's flexibility enabled RPM to expand beyond basic meter monitoring to offer comprehensive cooling tower management, including overflow sensors and vibration monitors—services previously unavailable to their clients.
The solution positioned RPM to scale across 100+ sites in their existing client base, transforming a compliance crisis into a growth opportunity. The automation of reporting processes and expanded monitoring capabilities have given RPM a strategic advantage in the industrial water management marketplace.