Brazil's KL Telecom, a company located in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, in the Brazilian southeastern state of Minas Gerais state, has invested in what they say is an ecologically correct product, which saves water, energy and money for consumers. Eco Shower Slim was launched earlier this month during the 10th Industrial Fair of the Valley of the Electronics.
According to Cláudio Lasso, an electric engineer who created the system, the device is made to allow the consumer himself to install it onto a common electric shower. According to him, the economy of electric energy and water is due to the fact that the Eco Shower allows the user to regulate the quantity of energy necessary to balance the ideal temperature for a shower using a lower volume of water.
"Normally when the shower is in the 'winter' position, even on cold days, it heats the water up too much and consumers run more water through it to find the ideal temperature, causing an increase in the consumption of water and energy," he explained.
"The same happens when the shower is in the 'summer' position, on hot days. To guarantee a pleasant shower the consumer must open the tap very much," explained Lasso.
The product also increases safety as it is installed directly on the pipe and avoids the contact when the device is on, which may cause an electric shock. Apart from that, the system increases the working life of the resistance and of the shower.
Up to the release of the product, the company, which was established in 1993 and employs six people, only assembled, installed and maintained telecommunications equipment produced in the Santa Rita hub. Then some of the companies in the hub started doing that themselves.
Work dropped, but the process for the search of a new route for the organization caused the entrepreneur to invest in a product attuned to the new needs of the population. "Lack of water and energy requires this kind of technology," he explained.
Eco Shower Slim is the first of a series of four products. The cost was calculated for the product to pay for itself. "In a house with four people the average monthly economy of water is estimated at 15 Brazilian reais (US$ 9), and that of energy, 34 reais (US$ 21)," he estimates.
The device was designed to cost 96 reais (US$ 59), in the case of the 220-Volt system, and 99 reais (US$ 61) for the 110-Volt model. "In three or four months, consumers can make up for the investment made," he pointed out.
The first lot should include 500 units and the second, 2,000. The organization's production capacity should reach 7,000 items by the beginning of 2009. As the product calls attention due to its innovation and economy, the businessman is already planning to seek clients abroad.
"Apart from adapting packages, language and other requirements, we need to know what is the most common frequency in each country," he pointed out.
KL Telecom is established in the electronic industry hub of Santa Rita do Sapucaí, known as the "Valley of Electronics", which includes 124 companies that employ 8,500 collaborators who make over 10,000 products.
Service
Telephone: (+55 35) 3471-3377
Site: www.ecoshower.com.br
E-mail: kltelecom@hotmail.com
Anba