An Israeli company which produces a unique kind of home water system has opened a factory in the US, in part as a sign of goodwill towards Israel’s closest ally.
Last year, the Israeli-based ‘Water-Gen’ corporation launched a pilot program in southern Florida using special ‘water generators’ in the town of Miami Gardens to produce drinking water for residents amid an ongoing drought.
Earlier in 2017, Water-Gen signed deals, together worth $150 million, to produce drinking water in India and Vietnam, two countries that have long faced shortages.
Water-Gen, which is owned by Russian-Israeli entrepreneur and billionaire Michael Mirilashvili, is looking to do business with the US – but not sales.
The company recently opened a new factory in Columbia, the state capital of South Carolina, creating hundreds of jobs, with plans for additional plants in the US to be opened in the next few years.
Speaking with Fox Business on Friday, Water-Gen USA President Yehuda Kaploun explained the company’s decision to open its factories in the US.
Kaploun suggested America’s strategic ties with Israel, as well as President Trump’s relationship with the Jewish state, were partly behind the decision to locate Water-Gen’s factories in the US.
"As a company, we have a policy: we like working with allies. And we know that Americans like having products that are made in America. And as the president said - and he has been a true friend of Israel - we have the ability to create jobs using patented technology. And as a result we want to employ people, and we're hiring people.”
"We plan on opening three or four plants in the US in next few years,” added Kaploun.
The special water generation systems “squeeze” humidity out of the air, Kaploun explained, purify it, and prepare it for consumption, making pure water “out of thin air”.
"It is much easier to clean air, than to clean water. We take the humidity in the air, we filter the air, we then bring the air - chill it - to the dew point, create water, then run it through a filtering process... so you get pure, clean water."
Water-Gen says its home water generation systems should hit the shelves by April 2019.