A revolutionary air conditioning unit that runs off a vehicle’s battery, not its engine, is ready to take on the huge US market, reports MIKE PRESTON.
By Mike Preston
Every Tuesday ‘Money Wanted’ features a new entrepreneur or inventor pitching their products and services.
Entrepreneur: Terry Ingram
Industry: Manufacturing
Based: Bendigo, Victoria
Wants: $1.5 million — and business expertise
To: Manufacture and market a truck cabin cooling unit
Long-haul truck cabins can be small stuffy places, condemning truck drivers to a fitful night’s rest after a long day on the road. Terry Ingram (right), founder of Bendigo-based company Kool Ideas, says he has the solution: a cabin cooling unit he claims is smaller, lighter and more effective than anything else on the market.
But more importantly, says Ingram, unlike most small cooling units, the Kool Ideas reverse cycle cooling/heating unit runs directly off the truck’s batteries, allowing it to operate without the need to have the engine running.
Ingram says this means significant fuel savings for truck drivers who previously would have had to keep their engine idling all night to keep a traditional cooling unit operating.
This presents a particularly big market advantage in the increasing number of US states, where anti-idling legislation prohibits drivers leaving engines running overnight, he says.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing to get the cooling unit ready for mass production, Ingram says. Repeated attempts to partner with Australian manufacturers to develop electronic controls for the units have come to nothing. “Several had said they have the ability to manufacture the electronic components, and we’ve gone down the road with them for three months only to find they can’t do it,” he says.
Ingram is now looking to start production with a mechanical control unit, with plans to upgrade to electronic controls when that becomes possible.
Although Kool Ideas has yet to commence any serious marketing, Ingram says he has already received expressions of interest in the cooling unit from a US manufacturer and the Australian Defence Force. Now, he says, is the time to take Kool Ideas to the next level but he needs injection of funds and business savvy to do it.
Ingram is seeking up to $1.5 million to manufacture 1000 cooling units, have licensing documents prepared and implement a marketing strategy for the product, with a focus on breaking into the large US market.
An investor with business acumen and experience would be very welcome, Ingram says.
“Experience with marketing or early start-ups, taking new products to the market, even someone involved with offshore manufacturing and marketing experience, all of that would be incredibly useful to us at this stage. I’ve reached the limits of my business skills and need that help to get to the next level,” he says.
Contact: Terry Ingram on +61 3 5448 5100.
For information on Money Wanted contact COMET business adviser Bob Beaumont on 0415 597 080.
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