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The company’s aim is to create appliances and products that use only a quarter of the energy consumed by current household appliances.
Mission: “To eradicate the electric load shedding in Pakistan. We believe in accomplishing our mission by replacing the power hungry appliances with SMART energy efficient alternates along with leading transition to the renewable energy.”
The partners' research and development (R&D) is part of a greater plan called “Kaamyaab Pakistan” (Rising/Successful Pakistan) under which "we have considered 500 different projects whereby we can empower people to basically set up their own business and generate their earnings without relying on any support from the government or any other person."
Once the company was officially incorporated in 2013, they began analyzing the current situation in Pakistan. A Pakistani government report asserts that in 2013, 8.2 million fans were produced, of which 6.5 million were ceiling fans. Ceiling fans are a requirement for every household in Pakistan since most people cannot afford an air conditioner and the fans rotate the indoor air and prevent breathing disorders and suffocation in the extreme heat of Pakistan's summers. Greenertronics decided to produce ceiling fans that would bring the consumers’ energy bill down to a quarter of that generated by conventional ceiling fans. During load shedding, generators and UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) automatically provide a longer backup time if the appliances consume less energy. If a conventional fan worked for 3 hours via a fully charged UPS, the E-Saver fan, in comparison, would work for 12 hours.
Two business partners, Munawar Alvi and Infanul Haq, started developing ideas after a devastating flood in Pakistan in 2010, in which 50% of the country was without power. The partners saw this as an opportunity to make low energy consumption products for people that would provide monthly savings and help reduce fossil fuel consumption in Pakistani society.
The E-Saver fan consumes 75% less energy than normal AC fans and costs only a quarter of the amount to provide the same cooling to the homeowner. Also, the fans continue to provide cooling during a load shedding situation. This in turn makes the move to solar energy much easier, as less power is required. The fan can be utilized on both DC (battery backup) and AC (normal operating situation).
Greenertronics is also a training facility. They employ a wide range of skilled workers; some are mechanical and electrical engineers, and others are technicians. Greenertronics actually helps its employee; they are conducting their research locally (Pakistan, UAE), but have other resources in the U.S. They also have access to a lot of information that they may not have in Pakistan. In addition, Greenertronics is guiding and coaching their workforce, both individually and as a group. Every week, they offer classes that explain new and upcoming technologies and inspire employees to innovate, design, and develop those concepts. Greenertronics oversees the whole process and comes up with new concepts and products based on the continuously failing results and experiments.
There is no institution available in Pakistan currently to provide such vocational training to employees. As the firm itself says: "most Greenertronics employees hold Bachelor’s degrees yet have never conducted any experiments or done anything related to what we are being taught in the current setup. The facility in Karachi is more like a training center for every newbie instead of a technical or industrial work environment."
Greenertronics focuses on research and development rather than production, which is in turn allowing them to develop their employees by enabling them to expand their knowledge, abilities, and skills.
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Munawar Alvi, Greenertronics
