Authentic Original
Heritage of the patented hexagonal cover
Hexprotect® — patented by AWTT — was the world's first self-ballasting hexagonal floating cover. It worked. It also taught AWTT exactly what the next generation needed to fix: an inside chamber that promoted algae and bacterial growth, a float that could lose its water ballast when tipped, and a shell less durable than the engineers wanted. The answer was Hexprotect® AQUA — the pre-ballasted, fully-contained, one-piece moulded variant — and it has been the workhorse of the AWTT product family ever since.
The original Hexprotect®
AWTT's original Hexprotect® was the first self-ballasting hexagonal floating cover. The patent describes a tessellated modular element that floats independently, dissipates wind energy via small lateral motion, and packs at high effective surface coverage without anchors — a complete break from anchored continuous covers.
From the original Hexprotect® to Hexprotect® AQUA
The original Hexprotect® was a genuine first — but in service it surfaced three engineering shortcomings:
- Inside chamber promoting algae and bacterial growth — standing water in the open self-ballasting chamber became a microbial harbour over time.
- Ballast loss when the float tipped — in certain wind or wave conditions the water ballast could escape, undermining the cover's wind performance.
- Lower shell durability than later models — the original construction did not match the field life AWTT wanted to underwrite.
Hexprotect® AQUA — the pre-ballasted variant — solved all three. The shell is moulded in a single piece with no inside chamber (no algae harbour), pre-ballasted at the factory with potable water that is fully contained (cannot be lost when the float tips), and built in virgin HDPE with a UV / oxidation additive package for a 25+ year life in the most demanding industrial environments. The result is the cover that became AWTT's most-sold product and is now hurricane-rated, NSF/ANSI food-grade-specifiable, and the default choice across the worldwide deployment base.
Independent validation history
- Hurricane testing — wind-load validation against Category 4 hurricane conditions (Hexprotect® AQUA is certified to 130+ MPH per AWTT).
- US Department of Energy — recognition for energy-efficiency contribution via heat retention on hot wells and digesters.
- USDA Bureau of Reclamation field trials — independent evaporation-reduction measurements.
- Multi-decade worldwide deployment record — installations across North America, Latin America, the Middle East, parts of Africa and Europe.
Why authentic matters
The hexagonal form factor is visible and easy to copy. The patented engineering is not. The AWTT cover line carries documented wind-resistance modelling, lifecycle (25+ years for Hexprotect® AQUA), replacement-parts compatibility, certification history (NSF/ANSI food-grade for potable applications), and proof of long-term material performance under UV, freeze-thaw, and chemical exposure.
Imitations may match the geometry but cannot match the validation chain or the pre-ballasted, one-piece moulded engineering that distinguishes Hexprotect® AQUA from earlier self-ballasting designs. For industrial water operators in the EU — where regulatory compliance is non-negotiable — the difference matters.
The European mission
EuroCover Water Systems exists to bring the AWTT cover line — Hexprotect® AQUA above all — to European water operators with local support, EU regulatory compliance, and UK-based engineering coordination. EuroCover also designs and tools Hexofloat® — its own patented hexagonal cover, AWTT design-approved — for projects where lead time or EU-origin is the binding constraint.
Provenance chain
- Designed and patented by AWTT (Hexprotect® original line; Hexprotect® AQUA the pre-ballasted variant).
- Manufactured under licence to the original specification.
- Distributed across the EU by EuroCover Water Systems Ltd, UK.
- Installed and supported by EuroCover's certified network across the EU.
Looking for the patent-level technical detail and original inventor history? See the deep patent history on pond-cover.com, our authority microsite for the AWTT hexagonal cover line.