InTouch Magazine Articles Archive

Issue 20, July 2008

Draintech, paving the way for a greener future

By Tricia Willis.

When Gary Evans sold his UK engineering business, he dreamt of semi-retiring in Cyprus. Yet when James Sweeney – a contract manager for one of the largest drainage companies in the UK – also relocated to the island, a pioneering, water-saving drainage venture unfolded, and has since taken the island by storm.

Londoners Gary and James knew one another well in the UK since their wives are cousins, meaning that when Gary sold his UK business in 2001 and moved to Cyprus, James and his wife became regular visitors. Indeed it didn’t take long for the island’s charms to attract James and his wife to buy an apartment in 2003 as a future holiday home. James continues, “Moving permanently to the island was a logical progression once a business idea emerged. Construction was taking place next door to our apartment, and looking at the drainage issues I could see a gap in the market for a professional drainage company. It seemed crazy that the existing concrete and brick manholes didn’t allow tissue to flow, especially since there’s such a simple, lifelong solution. Researching the Cyprus drainage system further, it became apparent that a major fallacy existed, with most people believing that the size of the pipes cause the blockages, when in fact the real answer is that they’re exactly the same size as the UK, even in old stone properties, and it’s the square concrete manholes that create the problem with tissue collecting at the bottom.

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