Aquagear’s Journey From Servicing the Developing World to US Retail Markets

Gary Hess wrote the beginnings of Aquagear with the ink of social good and humanitarian aid. Initially, he built it as a high-grade water filtration hardware specifically for the developing world but would soon pass the responsibility of Aquagear to his son, Steve, who would maintain the company’s commitment to providing clean water the world over while also building a US , retail presence

At its beginning, Aquagear was deployed with groups like the Red Cross or the Mormon Church when they were doing relief or missionary work in under developed or disaster-stricken parts of the globe. They would take Aquagear filters with them to ensure that their team members could safely drink the local water.

They would also hand out the filters to the local populace so that they could drink their water safely if it had been compromised. Interestingly enough, Hess tells me that the Aquagear was used in these situations as a short term solution to provide access to clean drinking water while longer term plans were implemented.

Looking at Aquagear through the lens of a humanitarian tool no doubt shows how valuable it is, but the younger Hess couldn’t help but think that it was something the US markets would enjoy as well. So, he got together with Shane Stead, who would become his Director of Marketing, and the two worked to adapt the technology into a more compact, pitcher-style filter for retail markets.

What I find brilliant about Aquagear is that their prototyping phase had already been taken care of when Hess came to this realization. Further, it had been done by running Aquagear through some of the harshest, most grueling filtration conditions on the planet. For example, when the earthquake hit Haiti, Hess tells me that they were able to help reduce Cholera infested water supplies and save lives – talk about a proof of concept.

Granted, the overall quality of US tap water isn’t horrible: you can drink it untreated and you won’t die. However, while US consumers might not need to remove viruses and pathogens from their water supply, there are still an abundance of contaminants floating around. We’re talking agricultural waste, recycled water with excess medicines, and industrial pollutants:  all of this is in your water supply .

Take Northern California for example – they have a big chromium 6 problem. And don’t even get me started on the horrific situation that’s been unfolding in Flint, Michigan. The EPA has even said that exposure to these chemicals increases cancer risk, birth defects, and overall malaise.

To help put these issues to bed, Aquagear uses five proprietary media – referred to as “scavenger media” – with each zone designed to remove a specific group of contaminants. While Hess can’t divulge the secret sauce that makes his filter one of the most robust on the market, he  was  able to tell us that one of the filtration media is coconut carbon. Coconut carbon is popularly used to reduce chlorine in tap water – a common additive to eliminate living, microbiological pathogens in our water supply.

Source: Tech

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• Purification
• Filtration
• Technology