As of 2020, water will have become a trillion-dollar global industry, and yet it’s notoriously slow to change. It needs a massive overhaul, and 21st century innovation. OriginClear CEO Riggs Eckelberry wasn’t afraid of the challenge. What he thought would continue to be an uphill battle changed dramatically in favor of his company when the pandemic hit the world. Millions of jobs have since been lost due to the pandemic, and with clean water a vital resource, (consider that some 80% of sewage in the world is left untreated), Eckelberry saw an unprecedented opportunity for good.
Starting in February of this year, Eckelberry teamed up with VP of Business Development Ken Berenger to develop a solution that would not only change the water industry, but improve the lives of those impacted by COVID-19.
Already expert manufacturers of their Modular Water™ systems (revolutionary drop-in water treatment technology) it was no stretch to take that innovative, transportable technology and create machines that your everyday entrepreneur could master. Under Chief Operating Officer Tom Marchesello’s direction, the mobile pool purification system called the Pool Preserver™ (pictured) was born; and the video announcing it has since reached a million views.
And so, Water as a Career™ was born, an amazing full-service business opportunity that pairs gung-ho entrepreneurs with vital technology. Not only that, the program now being piloted, comes with the needed technical training and business-in-a-box support that will guide entrepreneurs in their new venture. Think marketing, training, and much more.
OriginClear can arrange competitive financing for businesspersons with good credit; and for those who are just starting out (who may not have the stellar credit companies need these days), the company plans to finance a water equipment “fleet” by directing proceeds from its corporate bonds, which are popular with investors in virtually any income bracket.
The second product in this lineup is Pondster™, from the code name Pond Monster. It is a groundbreaking technology that has the ability to clean the water in trailer park waste lagoons. Moreover, the OriginClear team, headed by Chief Engineer Daniel M. Early, is currently planning to develop Pondster to treat animal farm manure lagoons, utilizing the same patented technology, but on a much larger scale.
OriginClear’s latest inventions often do not require the use of any chemicals when treating industrial and agricultural waste. Even more impressive, the technology only requires minimal energy in order to operate. The life cycle of the modular water treatment system can reach up to 100 years. This makes it the design preference for scores of industrial clients.
Riggs Eckelberry’s vast experience in management in nonprofit organizations, working as a ship captain and officer and then spending more than three decades in high technology including the dot-com, has helped him develop a keen adaptability when it comes to business. His belief and confidence that OriginClear would one day make its mark in the water industry never failed him. Indeed, he says, “There is no such thing as failure; there is only giving up.”
As the majority of the world continues to battle with the dreadful effects of the pandemic both on public health and the economy, Riggs Eckelberry and OriginClear are offering a rare opportunity to help entrepreneurs recover from their losses by giving them a brand-new start, coupled with a chance for investors to support the launch of many small water companies operated by these Waterpreneurs™, as he calls them! He intends to keep the financing in-house for at least a year, before eventually connecting investors with other water companies, in a much-anticipated Airbnb-style equipment rental marketplace.
As devastating as the pandemic has been to many, Eckelberry and the OriginClear team are overjoyed to be a beacon of hope and tireless innovation in a time when much of the world has stood still. It is their long-standing mission to create a difference in the lives of the people, the planet, and across the water industry, and there has been no better time to do this, than the disruptive year 2020.
Learn more about the OriginClear story by visiting its website.