UK firm to sell water-saving washing machine tech to India's IFB

UK-headquartered Xeros Technology Group informed the London Stock Exchange on Friday of its new tie-up with Indian home appliance manufacturer IFB for the supply of its water-saving technology.

The agreement means that domestic and commercial washing machines incorporating the company's innovative Xeros technology will be made and sold in India by IFB Industries Ltd from 2020-2021.

It marks the first time that the UK firm's XOrb technology will go to market in a domestic washing machine anywhere in the world, which the company claims will "change washing machines forever" by cutting down on water use in commercial machines by up to 80 per cent and domestic machines by up to 50 per cent.

"This licensing agreement with the leading Indian OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for both the domestic appliance and commercial laundry markets is another major milestone in the commercialisation of our cleaning technologies," said Mark Nichols, Chief Executive of Xeros.

"IFB's capabilities and market reach make them a very strong commercialisation partner in a country where water demand is expected to increase by more than 60 per cent over the next 30 years with some 80 per cent of the current population already impacted by water scarcity," he said.

Xeros claims the agreement with IFB will help consumers reduce water, detergent and energy consumption, with simultaneous improved cleaning performance and garment life extension.

The Development and Licensing Agreement clinched this week has a 10-year duration and covers the incorporation and commercialisation of Xeros' water saving XOrb and XDrum technologies into selected ranges of IFB's domestic and commercial sized washing machines.

Xeros said it will immediately receive a one-off exclusivity fee and during the development phase further payments when various milestones are reached. IFB will have access to Xeros' technology and has been granted rights to the Indian market on an exclusive basis and for other South Asian territories on a non-exclusive basis. The contract has the provision to add additional territories on a non-exclusive basis.

Xeros will also receive royalties based on sales revenues after the machines have completed development. Sales of commercial washing machines and domestic washing machines incorporating Xeros' technologies are planned to commence in India in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

IFB, listed on the National Stock Exchange of India, claims to be a leading domestic appliance and commercial laundry equipment supplier in South Asia. Its sales last year rose by 20 per cent to more than 400,000 (front-loading) washing machines, with the overall Indian market for washing machine sales growing rapidly among the country's urbanised and affluent population.

Xeros, a platform technology company that works on reinventing water intensive industrial and commercial processes, believes the reason the Indian market is important for its water-saving technology is that the country is under extreme water stress. According to the NITI Aayog, more than 600 million Indians face acute water shortages.