This month we're taking a look back at one of our favourite past projects, the Lifesaver Bottle, as mentioned by Peter in August 2024's E3Discussions.
The Lifesaver bottle was not only designed with disaster relief in mind, but with Sustainability as well way back in 2007. We've managed to dig out an article from 2014 which discusses E3Design's input, design process and the products subsequent success.
Sunday Sun June 11th 2014
Reporter MICHAEL BROWN
DESIGNERS from a small North firm have finally revealed their part in helping to bring safe and clean water to the world.
From their "bunker" in Newcastle's Jesmond, industrial design consultancy E3 Design has worked on everything from X-ray analysis machines to smartwatches, deodorant cans and fingerprint readers.
But while some of their work can be seen in homes and supermarkets around the globe it is one of their first projects - the Lifesaver bottle - for which technical director Peter Angus hopes they will be remembered.
Inventor Michael Pritchard approached e3design in 2007 to help him create the bottle and other products such as a jerry can and larger filter tanks, using his patented system that removes bacteria, viruses and parasites from water without the need for chemicals or a power source.
"It is something that will be life changing for people, not just a consumer product that someone will make money out of, said Peter, who helped found the company in 2007.
"To think that one bottle can provide 4000 to 6000 litres of clean water with one filter - that is going to help people survive through not just disasters but in humanitarian situations.
"It's been an almost philanthropic project and it feels like we're giving something back, rather than just creating packaging that goes to landfill
The Lifesaver bottles were invented by Michael Pritchard in 2007 after he became appalled by the loss of life related to infected water following the tsunami of 2004 and after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the following year.
The products have now been used following natural disasters in Haiti and the Philippines and have been credited with saving thousands of lives - though the role of the Newcastle firm has not been so widely known.
"He found us through the web and he came up and we had a meeting in Newcastle," said Peter:
"He arrived with a case with all the components broken up and wanted us to help him put them together into a prototype.
"In the beginning it was almost a loss leader but we felt we had to be involved because of its potential. And it turned out to be quite a success story for the North with another local company doing the moulding."
But Peter admitted that he often finds it difficult to shout about the Jesmond-based firm's successes, as he's often sworn to secrecy.
"With one client we can't even send them packages with anything on the outside to show where its come from as people go through their bins to see who they're working with," he said.
"And we work with some of the world's biggest companies - but unfortunately I can't say anything that we are working on now.
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