CleanFlow has grown from strength to strength and they now employ ten Massey graduates.One problem did arise though; it wasn’t perfectly accurate. The ecentre knew a person who might help.
Trevor had “never finished accountancy” whilst his brother Geoff had graduated with an Engineering Degree. They had an idea based around developing a software product with a GPS based system, they spent hundreds of hours in Trevor’s garage developing the idea to a point that they could show people. That is when they came to the ecentre all the way back in 2001 to help develop that idea.
So they got started developing their product, only to discover, through the advice from the ecentre and its fellow residents, that there was an opportunity to turn their idea in a new direction and use it to interpret data from close circuit tv cameras. They developed a product that could be put into buried and previously inaccessible pipes, digitize the deformities and inconsistencies of the interior of the pipe and with software to tell you exactly where the cracks and stresses of the pipe are. Genius.
One problem did arise though; it wasn’t perfectly accurate. It was pretty good, but not perfect, and they weren’t quite sure how to solve the problem. The ecentre knew a person who might help, Dr Martin Johnson, a computer vision specialist with experience in solving complex mathematical problems, from Massey University. Dr Johnson saw how they might create a complex algorithm to ensure the complete accuracy of the digital output, so they budgeted for a two month development to get this done. One week later Dr Johnson delivered the answer to their problems.
This amazing help meant that they were able to hop on a plane to a major trade show in Chicago and display their product 12 months ahead of schedule. After this CleanFlow has grown from strength to strength and now has their software in 36 countries, thanks to some of the fantastic contacts and introductions provided by the ecentre. As they started to grow, Trevor and Geoff employed students and graduates from Massey University in engineering, product development and design. Many of them are still with the company today and CleanFlow now employs ten such graduates.
The ecentre was there to provide assistance and encouragement to help get them where they are today.
