Green pioneers: Andrew Reason

Times Online
March 15, 2009
An energy-saving washing machine is just the thing to lighten the load at home
Andrew Stone

ANDREW REASON bills himself as the James Dyson of washing machines — only with added eco-credentials. He claims to have invented a machine that cleans clothes for less than the cost of conventional washing machines and at the same time slashes the amount of energy and water needed.
His Welsh-based start-up, which employs 11 people, is auctioning the first 200 machines online and plans to build 100,000 more by the end of 2010, thanks in part to a green grant of £45,000 from the Welsh Assembly. “We are still operating from a small factory space and selling through word of mouth,” said Reason, 42.
His machine, the Reason, has a larger drum in a normal-sized machine, which he claims can wash 10 kilos rather than the usual 5 kilos. In addition, it automatically weighs the washing, then dispenses the right amount of water, detergent and fabric softener, cutting down on waste.
Instead of having a concrete base that is polluting to make, the Reason uses water as ballast. This can be drained, making the machines easier to transport, and saves energy: the ballast water warms to ambient room temperature and is used for the wash, thereby taking far less energy to heat.

Reason claims that the machine will often not need to heat the water at all. “Kilo for kilo it uses 30% less electricity for a standard cotton wash compared to a typical A-rated European machine,” he said.
His inspiration came after he was forced to take time off as an architect after a rugby injury. The pain he felt when stooping to load his washing machine got him thinking about better ways to do it. “All I think about is washing machines, about getting it right and giving a good product to the consumer,” he said.
Fit to return to work after an operation on his back in 2002, he had to convince his wife to let him carry on developing his ideas. “I asked her to give me two more months on the washing machine. I managed to get £45,000 from the Welsh Assembly government and £15,000 from a private investor."
Cardiff University’s engineering department agreed to help model the vibrations his designs would create and two large washing-machine-repair firms also agreed to invest. He said large electrical retailers such as Currys and John Lewis had expressed interest.
“I now have people coming to me and saying they used to work for Hoover or Siemens and can they come and work for me? People used to tell me I was crazy to want to make the machines myself — they’re not laughing now.”
The Reason’s green credentials are even more compelling abroad. “Standard US machines use three times the water that European ones do,” he said.
To those who still doubt that a tiny start-up and a few private investors can revolutionise a design that has escaped an entire industry for decades, Reason has an answer.
“Making a product like this requires determination, passion and innovation. It’s also about being prepared to dream, letting your people go and try new things. Innocence and naivety really helped us.
“I approached this from the point of view of the consumer and the Reason is a good, simple solution to their problems. I think we’ve done a lot with relatively little.”