Finding water in the desert air

By ELLEN READ

A local technology company is working wonders in the Arizona desert creating pure drinking water out of desert air.

Water Master Technologies of East Tamaki has patented technology for a general use water cooler that extracts water from the air.

The mains-powered Machine creates more than 10 litres of sterile, chilled drinking water a day, even in air-conditioned environments.

Air is drawn in through the machine's filters, the water in it is condensed and then frozen on to stainless steel coils.

Turning the water in the air into ice is the first stage of the water purification. Any pollution in the air will pass through the machine and not contaminate the water. Every few minutes the collected ice is turned back into water.

The collected water is then passed through a 0.5-micron activated carbon and particulate filter and pumped into the main storage tank, where it is sterilised by ozone gas produced in the machine.

A prototype of the WaiMac water machine has been shipped to Phoenix, Arizona, where its ability to extract water from extremely dry air has impressed potential investors and business partners, says Water Master director Garth Richardson.

Two other prototypes are being displayed around Asia and in New Zealand.

The company was set up in 1997 with the sole aim of developing the WaiMac water generator. It is a private company with 60 shareholders.

"We only have limited funds so we decided to focus on one product and market," said director Chris Curlett. "We'll keep developing and refining it."

The world market for the product is considerable. An estimated 20 million water coolers are in offices around the world, and the number has risen by a third since 2000.

Industry New Zealand helped Water Master develop pre-production prototypes and a marketing plan by awarding it a $100,000 grant. The company oversaw the design process but contracted out much of the work.

"It's very much our philosophy that we can't economically have everything in-house, so we have a job to do and we contract it out," Curlett said.

That way, the company can keep overheads low, operating out of just one office in an East Tamaki business park.

The machine's ability to produce pure, sterile water even from the smoggy air of cities such as London has been independently verified by scientists at the University of New South Wales.

Curlett said the machines were quiet enough to be in office areas and took no more power to run while producing water than two PCs.

The company is targeting the office market for drinking water in New Zealand and overseas.

It wants to start commercial production of the WaiMac in the middle of next year and is aiming for sales of $31 million within three years.

The company plans to use licensing agreements and commercial alliances with international manufacturing and distribution companies to speed up the commercial launch of the WaiMac and to gain a revenue stream.

Water Master is seeking to raise $1 million from New Zealand investors to develop its plans, and to finalise the international manufacturing and distribution agreements.

It is also in the process of raising US$1.5 million from American investors through a subsidiary, CrystalAir Technologies, to help launch the product in the United States.

The capital raising in New Zealand is being done alongside three other companies that have found a way to raise money from the public without the need for a prospectus.

The four have been on a roadshow operating under an exemption to the Securities Act that allows a company to raise up to $5 million from the public without a prospectus.

The Investment Opportunities in New Zealand Scheme operates under the Securities Act (Local Authority and Other Venture Capital Schemes) Exemption Notice 1998.

Would-be investors have to register with the scheme's administrator, the quasi-governmental Economic Development Association, before receiving any details of the companies.

The companies do not have to produce investment statements, although in this case all four have.

One of the companies is Panztel, a Tauranga-based technology company with a phone-based timekeeping service called EziTracker, which wants to raise $1.2 million.

The company was profiled on the Herald's Small Business page in January.