Mr. Carbonari: WTC started out as a company focused on the development of iodinated resin technology for disinfecting water and, in the course of that activity, got involved in other applications related to what's called the point-of-use water treatment, point-of-use referring to applications that occur in the home. As a result of that activity, about three years ago, we got involved with a major appliance manufacturer and developed a filtration system for use in an appliance, more specifically, a refrigerator specifically. The primary development, as far as the growth of the company, over the last couple years has been in this area. There are a number of things going on in the point-of-use water treatment industry. The primary thing that we see is an interest on the part of large consumer product companies in the category of point-of-use water treatment products. There is Procter & Gamble, that is involved in products for treating water at the faucet, and we've been working with General Electric and Amana that are incorporating them into refrigerators and are looking at other products.
TWST: Can you expand a bit on how your main technology platform works
and how it may compare to some other similar products out there right
now?
Mr. Carbonari: There are two technology platforms. One that is driving
the growth for today, another one that has great potential for the
future. We have a proprietary filter design that is very suitable for
use in refrigerator applications. It's called a dry change system. We've
got it patented, and have a fair amount of intellectual property around
it. What we're offering our customers is a product platform they don't
have to worry others can develop 'will fit' replacements. In addition we
offer a bundle of services to the OEM appliance customer. We do a lot of
engineering to integrate the filter system into their product. We handle
all the regulatory aspects of the products. Their business is building
refrigerators; our business is water treatment and water purification.
We can save them in time to market, offer upgrade in performance, and
simplify the regulator issues related to the business. The second
technology has to do with water disinfection at the point of use.
There's an increasing amount of interest on the part of consumers
regarding the water they drink. This has evolved from simply a taste
issue to a health concern. You can almost follow this trend by looking
at the sale of bottled water. This product is indicative of the trend in
the consumer's interest in the health aspects of the water they drink.
We believe that there is a concern about microbiological contamination,
and an interest in the disinfection of water at the point of
consumption. We have been applying disinfection technology for about 20
years in the overseas and outdoor/recreation markets using iodinated
resin. The concerns raised by recent events have changed and accelerated
a lot of thinking on the part of the regulators in this area. We're
seeing a lot more activity on the part of the military, non-
governmental, and relief organizations, looking at products that contain
disinfection technology.
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