The following blog post was written by Melissa McCoy, an entrepreneur from the Atlanta program.
With Village Capital Atlanta providing the jet fuel, TOHL has been readying for liftoff. We utilized $40,000 in seed funding from the Chilean government to build our first product, form key partnerships with entities like the Red Cross, and test our product in the community of San Jose de Maipo in the country of Chile in South America. Now, we’re preparing to complete our first contract in September with SQM, the largest non-metallic mining company in Chile. Soon, we will be providing low-cost water pipeline systems to rural villages, disaster relief agencies, and small farmers around the world.
To give a quick background: At TOHL, we are changing the way people think about pipelines and water delivery. Pipelines can now be installed cost-effectively, quickly, and sustainably, through our innovative, proven installation methods. Pipelines are typically installed in short segments, which require lots of money, labor, and time to install. Our tested and proven installation techniques at TOHL reduce all of these by providing a method of installing pipelines in very long segments, which reduces the number of connections in the pipeline, reduces the amount of labor involved during installation, saves money, and saves time. We do this by using coiled tubing that is loaded onto large spools and deployed by truck or helicopter.
On July 5th, 2012, we completed the fastest known pipeline installation ever recorded, in partnership with the Red Cross and Ecocopter, an eco-tourism company. 1 km pipeline was installed via helicopter in only 9 minutes over mountainous terrain. Through TOHL’s techniques, pipelines can now be installed cheaper and faster than ever before, which is crucial for people in developing countries. TOHL’s solutions supplement or even replace the water trucks that drive to and from the communities daily. Even more intriguing is how quickly the pipelines may be removed following operations that are only temporary, such as disaster relief efforts, temporary employee work camps, and military base operations. In these particular temporary applications, the pipelines are not buried. In these situations, TOHL’s solutions are sustainable. Actual members of the TOHL team were personally able to remove their 1 km prototype pipeline in less than 10 hours (with a total of 3 people). Larger pipelines can just as easily be removed by helicopter.
TOHL now has a proven, effective solution that needs to be disseminated globally. Our team comprised of Benjamin Cohen, Travis Horsley, Apoorva Sinha, and myself has shown that it can set a vision and execute. We are launching a 30-day crowdfunding campaign on August 20, 2012 and ask for your support as we continue to bring water to millions of people.
Links:
TOHL Crowdfunding Campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/
The Story of TOHL Film: http://youtu.be/_vkmSIEaqiQ
TOHL Website: www.thetohl.com
