Business Case
1 Objective
Capturing an over $500M/year market by developing a plug-in replacement solution for manual and electrical marine toilets. Servicing is done without tools, using a mass-produced pump module whichincludes all serviceable parts.
2 Offer
The solution has been developed by Almos Technologies, an Australian based high-tech company. Wide-ranging international patents protect the technology, covering any plug-in marine toilet solution.
Almos offers exclusive worldwide or regional licensing (with terms to be negotiated).
3 Benefits for Customers
Anyone who owns a boat knows that marine toilet maintenance is every boat owner’s biggest concern. Similarly, for charter boat operators toilet servicing remains a major headache.
With iPump servicing a marine toilet is as simple as replacing a printer cartridge. It can be done in minutes without any expertise or tools by simply replacing the iPump module using the built-in ratchet.
It is expected that most owners will replace the iPump module every 1-2 years in order to enjoy the freshly lubricated operation of a new toilet and to eliminate break-down risks during the season.
Charter fleets can include several iPumps stored onboard as standard charter boat spares. This will eliminate wasted time for customers and the logistics problems for charter companies inherent in dealing with a customer’s blocked toilet. The cost of any used iPump cartridges can be simply deduced from the customer’s deposit.
Converting a marine toilet to the iPump solution is straightforward. Simply remove the old pump and install an iPump docking base, using the same screws and same seal as the old pump. The iPump docking base hose connections are located in the same place as on the old pump. Once the docking base is installed the toilet is ready for plug-in iPump modules.
1. Benefits for Manufacturer
iPump is a truly disruptive technology. In addition to its numerous inherent advantages over conventional marine toilet repair kits (price, speed and convenience), once a boat is fitted with the iPump docking base the owner becomes a lifelong iPump customer. Competitors are kept at bay by wide ranging granted patents registered in the United States, European Union and other important markets.
2. iPump will sell in much larger quantities than current repair kits for a range of reasons, including:
o It’s quick and simple to replace. Owners and charter crew will replace iPumps regularly, just to make the pump work smoother or as a precaution during the annual service in order to avoid break-downs during the season. Current marine toilet service kits are used only as a last resort.
o Currently 80% of the repair is just cleaning and lubrication of old parts without using a Service Kit. On the other hand 95% of iPump repairs will be done by replacing it (allowing for people who even repair printer cartridges!), which is a 5 fold increase.
o It’s convenient: Charter companies can store multiple iPump spares on their vessels and consequently avoid costly service trips and disruption to customer charters.
o It’s flexible: iPump adapters can be designed to fit all leading marine toilets on the market. All major manufacturers of Marine Toilets will be vulnerable to this new, disruptive technology
3. iPump will be significantly more profitable than the manufacture and sale of marine toilet repair kits:
Boat owners will be ready to accept a high price point for iPump in preference to the costs and inconvenience of boat service companies, or the alternative of spending their own valuable time on this very unpopular task.
It is expected that on average users will replace their iPump every 18 months. Charter companies may use 5 iPumps per vessel per year.
Money currently spent by owners on paying boat service companies will instead be spent on disposable iPump modules, directly converting service costs into recurring sales revenue.
The iPump will become a ubiquitous single-use item on all larger recreational vessels, resulting in a massive worldwide market which will allow mass production, thereby minimizing unit cost and maximizing unit profit.
Projected sales revenue
Based on a U.S. Coast Guard figures, in 2015 there were over 120,000 marinas with 4.6 million berths located in the United States alone. On the other side of the Atlantic, there are over 4,500 marinas and 1.75 million berths located in European Union countries. The number of marina berths is significant as they are associated with larger boats with one or more onboard toilets. Including marinas in prime sailing grounds such as the Caribbean, Australia, Japan and South-East Asia results in a conservative estimate of approximately 8 million recreational vessels worldwide containing at least one marine toilet.
While some of these boats might be lightly used or might not have water flushing toilets, larger boats will have multiple toilets and charter boats will require several iPumps annually.
The below table records the iPump’s projected market penetration within 3 years on the basis of Base, Optimistic and Pessimistic scenarios.
