Q3 2019

6 | Q3 2019 Cleanliness within washrooms is of paramount importance, and as the world shifts towards connected devices and sustainable practices, hand-dryers are having to become more energy-efficient and Smarter, and this British company has taken it to a whole new level. SAVORTEX ® is a UK-based manufacturer of innovative, eco-friendly and worlds first IoT connected hand-drying technology. The company’s smart dryers report usage data and use footfall stats to alert cleaners to washroom inspections, now that’s Smart! Their latest innovation, the adDryer™ has an in-built screen and shows a full motion video message as users dry hands in retail washrooms, which generates ad revenue per dry! With over 400 projects deployed worldwide to multinational clients such as Gatwick Airport, RBS and Rolls Royce to name a few, the company is going from strength to strength. Its visionary leader wants to transform wasteful corporate washrooms into sustainable, hygienic, connected and revenue generating assets. We caught up with the founder and CEO, Syed Ahmed, and examined the firm to understand more about their success as the ‘UK’s Most Outstanding Hand-Drying Company of the Year’ for 2019, awarded by SME news. Smart and Sustainable: The Story of SAVORTEX Determined to transform wasteful corporate washrooms into sustainable, connected and revenue generating assets, SAVORTEX is a British, multi- award-winning hand drying technology manufacturer using IoT tech. With over seventy million washrooms worldwide, the firm are aiming to replace costly, unsustainable paper towels with smart hand-dryers that offer much more than simply dried hands. Challenges within the hand-drying industry are present, and the SAVORTEX Smart and energy saving hand dryer range offers the solutions for building owners who really care about meeting their long-term sustainability targets, and not just short-term price-based decisions. High costs, inefficient brushed motors, maintenance and energy consumption levels within washrooms can make them tricky to manage for property owners, but the firm are working to solve multiple issues at once. As the world shifts to become eco-friendlier, Smarter and more sustainable, the team are also working to establish green alternatives to prevalent and expensive paper towels which significantly impact the environment in both manufacture and disposal. In partnership with technology giants Intel®, SAVORTEX has co-developed the world’s first, and most environmentally advanced, internet-connected hand dryer range which report usage and washroom footfall data in real time for analytics. These hand-dryers are powerful, incorporate the most advanced digital brushless motor technology, offering ten times more life than traditional dryers, are energy-efficient and deliver a quick-dry in 11 seconds, whilst running on just 550 watts, which is 1/3rd of the power compared to traditional hand dryers, such as Dyson, ensuring true sustainability with low levels of energy consumption. Utilising their innovative technology, the two main offerings from SAVORTEX include the EcoCurve™ 550D Smart and adDryer™. The former, of note, is currently being utilised as a developed solution in Gatwick Airport, following a successful trial that resulted in a 60% energy reduction per dry. A Smart Energy Saving Revolution “It takes an incredible five gallons of water to produce just one pound of paper. 30 percent of paper goes to waste in corporate buildings, and washroom waste is a large part of that. There’s a lot going to waste that shouldn’t be. So, we teamed up with Intel ® and designed a smart and sustainable hand-dryer range fit for 21st century commerce.” said Syed.