A small Scottish firm that has developed a product it says can help people slash their gas bills by 10% has won an early vote of confidence from a national retailer.
Six months after launching its Umax water treatment system, Enviromax has won a deal to supply the product to Wolseley, the building supplies firm.
With 500 outlets across the UK, Wolseley has placed an initial order for 5000 Umax treatments. These have a retail value of around £150,000 in total.
The order is a significant coup for Greenock-based Enviromax, which was founded by Bob Wilson, a veteran of the water treatment business, and local marketing specialist Gerry Deeney.
Drawing on 40 years experience in the sector, Mr Wilson set out to develop products that would increase the efficiency of systems which rely on water, like central heating.
Umax is a liquid which increases the proportion of the heat produced by boilers that makes it into radiators.
Mr Deeney said: "I was interested in Umax as soon as Bob told me about it."
He added: "As water in a central heating system passes over the boiler a small percentage of that water will boil on the hot metal surface of the boiler.
"Umax is based on natural substances and changes the way that water boils on the boiler tube and transfers heat into the bulk water in the boiler.
"It then produces micro bubbles that greatly increase heating efficiency, saving on average 10% of an annual gas bill."
The two men developed their plans for the venture with support from the Business Gateway service, which also helped them access around £10,000 grant support from Inverclyde Council and Scottish Enterprise.
Mr Deeney said: "All the support we received has enabled the company to bring the product to market much more quickly than otherwise would have been the case."
Enviromax has created five jobs in Greenock, where Umax is manufactured and packaged. The founders believe there is the potential for Enviromax to sell 100,000 units in the first year. With Umax treatments expected to retail at £30 each that would equate to first year sales of £3 million.
The firm also produces a solution it says can be used to control legionella in domestic hot water systems, allowing temperatures to be dropped by 10°C, and has other products in development.
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