Water Filter Production

ONG frère St Gabriel (FSG) has initiated introduction of the Ceramic Silver Pot-shaped (CSP) water filters with support of an Indian engineer. Production facility and production equipment was put in place, but technical problems are encountered in the production process. In 2007 and 2008, UNICEF already ordered hundreds of water filters for emergency situations caused by hurricanes.

By professionalizing and improving the filter production in Madagascar and by mapping the efforts needed to set up a market-based sales and distribution system, the filters can be introduced large scale on the market in Madagascar.
A first step in this process is to evaluate the filter production facility and to conduct a market study:

Production Process of the filter, to be evaluated on quality and efficiency :
• To study former investigations on production problems in skills, materials, equipment and methods
• To identify bottlenecks in the existing production
• To develop the requirements for a production unit for filters
• To identify critical aspects, like level of skills, entrepreneurial tradition, quality consciousness
• To give technical training on the improvement of the production process

The filter market, to be evaluated on potential and sustainability :
• To identify bottlenecks of the market
• To identify and define the main inputs for the elaboration of a marketing strategy

Other goals:
Transfer of technical knowledge on last improvements of production process
The FSG unit production has started up production of filters or candles
The potential market is evaluated
The lines of a project market strategy are defined

The goal is a transfer of technical knowledge on last improvements of production process of water filters. The FSG unit production will start up production of filters or candles, and the potential market is to be evaluated. Also the lines of a project market strategy are to be defined.

The filter factory should be able to operate as a business and sustain without external financial support. This only works when there is a real market for the filters. A distinction should be made between the retail market, which are often the middle class families who have enough education to know about the potential risks of drinking unsafe water and who have disposable income to spend on the filter on the one hand, and the NGO and institutional market on the other hand, buying filters for free or subsidized distribution to very poor families. By further developing these two markets, filter production and sales can be sustained by free market principles.