| "One of the key
differences to products currently on the market is
the odour lock system. In competitor's products, the
odour lock occurs where the sleeve is submerged below
the water line – necessitating a stem of plastic
to get it there, which isn't compatible with many
European urinals. The Ureco works above the water
line and is therefore much shorter, so it fits any
type of urinal regardless of design - which opens
up new markets: a lot of the companies we are speaking
with in the UK have European arms, so the potential
is absolutely massive."
He says the Ureco's active ingredient
- the enzyme which breaks down the uric salts - is
also 1,300 times stronger than its nearest competitor.
Although not officially launched at
the time of writing, Hygienex, through Rice's washroom
services company, Blitz Hygiene Services, had already
secured a major contract with Nottingham City Council
to install thousands of units across all of its 360
sites – from local housing offices to City Hall.
And Rice says further contracts will be in place by
the time this article is published: Hygienex plans
to replace the thousands of urinal sleeves it supplies
and maintains across the East Midlands with the Ureco,
as well as supply the product to mainland Europe and
the US.
So how much water - and therefore money
- can the device actually save? According to Rice,
a simple example is one cistern feeding two urinal
bowls.The volume of water per urinal flush is normally
4.5 litres and on a urinal where no water saving device
is fitted, the flush frequency is 96 times daily."With
a Ureco and a water management device you can slice
that right down to twice a day, although we recommend
four times a day," says Rice."That reduces
water consumption from 315,000 litres per annum down
to 13,000l per annum. So the cost of the water (based
on Midlands water costs) on that site without any
devices fitted would cost them £491 per year.
With the Ureco and a water saving device,
water costs would drop to £20.50.
"Taking into account the negating
of potential blockages, and the need for air fresheners,
even with the costs of fitting the Ureco and changing
it four times per year, plus the outlets and the water
management systems, you're looking at an annual saving
of 73 per cent. So the customer is saving a fortune
and the urinal, with the Ureco's chrome cap, looks
better." While some might argue that disposing
of the plastic caps every four months might seem counterproductive
in terms of environmental savings, Rice says the issue
is already in hand:
"The device is made from a special
polymer that biodegrades within 12 months, which is
another key selling point." Hygienex now seeks
more large distributors for the product, to further
its footprint both nationally and globally.
He says the company has already
been approached by urinal manufacturers looking to
include a Ureco and fixing kit as the urinals are
shipped.
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