IMPA’s Steve Alexander interviews AQUAREX Founder and Managing Director Jesper Weller.
When first meeting Jesper Weller you could easily be forgiven for considering him a corporate man. His CV lists an impressive roster of experience made up of household names from the maritime industry. First starting out as a Maersk cadet he spent his early life in the Danish giants training programme, ultimately concluding that stage in his career as Chief Engineer. He spent time on land and sea with the Danish Navy and then at MAN in various key roles. Somewhere in there, he studied for an MBA and as part of his varied maritime background he has lived in France, Portugal and now Cyprus.
His maritime experience is undoubted and as both engineer and with management positions on land, he has developed a deep understanding of the workings and people of the industry. But if he was, or is still, a so-called corporate man, it’s not the profile he assumes today, rather, like an increasing number of the IMPA community these days, he is driven by a different agenda. I ask him why he started his own company, he will tell you, “when I rest my head at night I want to feel as though I’ve done my part!”
He is of course referring to making a difference to our industry and in particular the environment - playing a role in the ever-important sustainability agenda. In essence, here is a man driven by purpose!
Jesper’s company is the Cyprus based AQUAREX and he leads a team of ‘Aqua-brains’ - people that share his passion and dedication to the purpose; a joined up approach to providing the industry with not just products but more of a solution for environmental issues on board ship. Asked about this approach Jesper explains, “knowing the industry structure and make-up means we are constantly innovating how we do things, our approach to providing water as a solution and hygiene as a solution is based on the needs of the industry, we can provide our products and service as an outright purchase or we can tailor-make a lease based solution with a set monthly fee, covering everything”.
This one stop solution breaks down the barriers for shipping companies wishing to embark on the journey to remove single use plastic drinking water bottles from their fleet. IMPA’s research has shown over the past few years that some shipping companies will be concerned about outright capital investment, even if at a relatively low level. The branded AQUAREX WAASTM concept - Water As A Solution, means for a modest monthly fee a ship can be fully kitted with water filtration equipment, maintenance and supplies and all the support necessary to remove SUP drinking bottles…forever!
Jesper says this concept allows an easy solution that is both risk free and allows proof of concept. IMPA’s research has also shown that crew concern around the quality of the water produced can be another barrier, but Jesper explains this is definite terms. “The equipment itself is relatively straight-forward but the key is ensuring quality production, fitting and ongoing supplies, there is no doubt that purified water can meet the strictest water regulations in the world”. He adds, “frequent testing is part of the process to ensure that the water is providing water according to WHO standards”.
The flagship product we’ve been discussing is the C100, which has now developed a proven record over several years for providing the crew with a trusted solution. The equipment is manufactured under strict quality guidelines using an ‘Aqua-brains’ design concept. Sleek and efficient in operation the system operates to a six-stage purification process and features sediment, carbon, reverse osmosis filtrations and remineralisation, UV and double bio barrier. There’s a long list of certification standards that support the equipment and there’s even a built-in alarm system fitted that will automatically detect and alert the crew to any abnormalities.
Getting companies to realise just how good such systems are today has been a key strategy for the IMPA SAVE initiative and it’s very pleasing to see this making a real impact. This, now well proven industry initiative is making a big impact on the environment by reducing huge numbers of plastic bottles whilst saving money for the shipping company. With this in mind, it’s not hard to see why AQUAREX have an order book made up of industry leading shipping corporates, and with the WAAS initiative available, it means smaller companies have an easy entry point as well. The company also has an increasing number of luxury yacht owners who see sense in the sustainable solution.
The AQUAREX portfolio consists of the water filtration systems to provide clean, fresh and healthy water for the crew but not being one to stand still for very long Jesper and his team are building a range of environmentally friendly hygiene products that use natural materials to clean surfaces in the galley, decks and all around the ship.
The AQUAREX disinfectant and cleaning solution could be described as some form of alchemy as Jesper explains: “just fill the pitcher with water and add food grade salt, power on the system and within minutes you have electrolysed water called hypochlorous acid (HOCI)” at first sounding sceptical about this I challenge Jesper on the concept and he adds more by explain “a degreaser and cleaner can be provided by swapping the salt for food grade potassium carbonate”.
This range of cleaning solutions with the E240 sanitiser on demand system follows Jesper’s philosophy, “It’s all focused on the benefits of using natural materials that are less harmful for the environment whilst removing vast quantities of plastic from the ship”. What is sure to appeal to the procurement teams out there is the cost savings associated with these systems, along with the environmental benefits. As time moves on the need to remove single use plastic will become ever more necessary, surely its only time before the IMO insist on plastic free ships!
Not content with cleaning, sanitisation and fresh water, Jesper’s team have also introduced a range of innovative detection systems that test surface cleanliness and determining indoor air quality, again another important initiative for crew welfare and well-being, something Jesper and his team consider part of their purpose.
