Energy Controllers Win Entrepreneurs' Challenge
Making energy use smarter has won Auckland technology
exporter Senztek a share of the $1m Entrepreneurs' Challenge
run by the University of Auckland.
The company, which
has seen an increase of sales by almost 300% in the past
year, will use the funding to boost its R&D and fast-track
expansion plans into Europe.
Senztek provides smart
technology for heating and maintenance of (mainly solar
generated) hot water, but its active R&D programme is
introducing other technologies; moving the company from
intelligent measurement technology to smart energy
management.
Senztek CEO Brian Knolles said the funding
comes at a critical time for the company, which had its
first sales of 100 units to mega-distributor Apricus in
Australia just on a year ago.
Now Australia makes up
much of the company's exports of energy efficient
technology, on the back of a $42bn Australian government
stimulus package for the solar market, which will see
300,000 solar systems installed in Australian homes, and a
phase out of electric-only hot water cylinders.
The
next step is the potentially lucrative UK market, which
Knolles' team has identified the UK market as having
significant potential for the business.
"It's seen as
too small for the big players, but it is the right size for
us," he said. "Europeans traditionally use a variety of
technologies to get hot water and our hot water control
technology is the right product at the right time."
Mr
Knolles said the UK was a new solar market with huge
potential to grow rapidly over the next few years. "Our
goal is to partner with a UK distributor and offer the
customised solutions that the larger European controller
manufacturers are not prepared to go after."
ENDS