Water from Air bottling plant to birth 'waterpreneurs'
We all know the phrase "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and use it often when referring to a positive opportunity that results from a negative situation - and water is fast becoming that opportunity. The current water crisis might become a catastrophe for South Africa, but not for everyone if a South African company has its way.
In a recent announcement, Water from Air CEO, Ray de Vries, said that they had dotted the I's and crossed the T's of their latest offering, The Water Entrepreneur business opportunity - a water bottling plant with water sourced from thin air.
"We already offer the only immediate solution for the water catastrophe facing us by way of our machines that produce water from the air. We then thought, hang on, we could design an offering that could create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs - this led to the birth of The Water Entrepreneur," said de Vries at the opening of the company's new premises in Cape Town.
The bottling plant can produce up to 3,000 bottles of the purest water per day and can be scaled up to any requirement. Housed in a 20ft container, the plant is a turnkey bottling plant that produces the purest water possible from the air.
The idea originated in 2009 when de Vries and his partner, Paul Raglan-Smith, worked together on a Water from Air bottling plant powered by a wind turbine in Durban. "At the climate change conference in Durban in 2011, we discussed the possibility of one day creating an opportunity where everyone can benefit from this amazing idea. Who would have that this would be a reality just a few years later - and all because of a horrendous drought," said de Vries.
Orders are coming in from South Africa and a number of countries in Africa and beyond, according to de Vries. The company manufactures in Johannesburg and assembles the plants in Durban and now Cape Town.
De Vries founded Water from Air in 2009 and has grown it into a sizable business. "I am fiercely South African and I want to be part of the rebirth of South African business. As a country, we have taken a number of knocks in the past few years for all the wrong reasons. I am going nowhere, I am here to stay and my team and I are committed to helping South Africa bounce back by birthing 'waterpreneurs' who will help us help South Africans, Africa, and the world.
