Orders Flow In For Water Maker....
2003-09-30
THAT seemingly magical device that turns air into water has started rolling off the production lines here.
Hyflux, the water-treatment specialist which makes it, said yesterday that 1,000 units could be produced a month.
Production will increase when contract manufacturers in markets such as China start production, its chief executive officer Olivia Lum told The Straits Times.
Hyflux, which is also developing Singapore’s first desalination plant, has received orders and down payments for 20,000 units.
More than a hundred units will soon be on their way to a distributor in Malaysia, which has ordered 10,000 units. Another 100-plus units are now on a ship headed for Australia.
In Singapore, the device named Aquosus has a 19-litre tank capacity and retails at $1,899. A five-litre model for homes will be available from November and it sells for less than $800.
The Aquosus - which takes in air, chills the vapour into water and purifies it - is quenching the thirst of people at places like Orix Car Rentals in Bukit Batok, Raffles The Plaza hotel, and IE Singapore in Victoria Street. The Singapore Police Force and Singapore Armed Forces have taken delivery of a few units for their staff on overseas assignments.
The Aquosus is also found in the office of government investment arm Temasek Holdings, whose purchase of $11.8 million worth of new shares in Hyflux had helped the company to fund its venture.

In January, Hyflux paid US$1 million (S$1.76 million) for a 2-per-cent stake in a United States company, Air 2 Water, which owns the patent for making water from air.
Hyflux also invested US$3.75 million to form joint ventures with the US company to make and market the Aquosus in the Asia-Pacific region.
To people in some parts of China and India where potable water is not always available, the Aquosus is a godsend, said Ms Lum.
The drawback is that it can produce only a litre of water an hour, and its membrane system has to be replaced yearly at a cost of about $100.

Snazzy versions of the Aquosus will be designed as an interior decoration for homes. A Singapore property developer is negotiating to buy the device to give away as presents to clients, said Ms Lum. Mr Soh Cheah Choon, managing director of Acaxia, the distributor in Singapore, said beauty firms have bought the Aquosus to use pure water when applying chemicals to clients’ faces.

At the core of the Aquosus is Hyflux’s proprietary membrane system, which purifies the water, and an ultra-violet lamp that kills micro-organisms.The Aquosus has two taps for hot and cold water.Said Ms Lum: ’We will also market the Aquosus as a home appliance. Any retailer can sell it. My vision is of a unit in every home - just like a fridge.


Copyright 2003 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
The Straits Times (Singapore)

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