How many paint brushes have you worn out?
If you are a home painter, there are certainly not many. When you throw away a brush or roller, it’s probably because it’s dried in a jar! This is how it is for most of us and that is exactly what the Norwegian John Eddy Pedersen took note of, when he after a few years in Sweden thought about the topic “new business ideas”. We throw away large amounts of expensive brushes every year, just because we forget them in the jar of water or solvent. Or because we simply do not have the strength to clean them.
The principle: negative pressure
How do you prevent a brush from drying out? The principle is quite simple, it is important to prevent the solvent – water, white spirit, etc. – from evaporating. John Eddy Pedersen began to think on the problem. How to prevent evaporation? Negative pressure? How much negative pressure? How to store the brushes? Eddy counted, tested and pondered. After about a year, he had a suitable mathematical formula and design – ZipGreen was born!
Distribution is the key however, no idea becomes profitable if it does not reach the market. So Eddy contacted Jordan, a leader in painting tools in the Nordic region (in Sweden, the subsidiary Anza is better known in painting). It was neither yes nor no, instead Jordan made contact with Hotswap in Sweden, a development consultant who usually helps Jordan.
Scarce resources
Meanwhile, the money began to run out and Eddy had more or less emptied his resources. Or as he himself puts it: – I lived on noodles and patchwork! However, Eddy presented his idea to his friend Christopher Nyrerød, who, based on Eddy’s painting descriptions and ordinary drawings, joined the project as a partner. Now the sales work also took off. After six months, they had succeeded in selling the idea to areas of the building materials trade in Norway, as well as to Coop. Jordan’s laboratory checked and tested with drawings as a basis, but were not yet really convinced. At the same time, stakeholders appeared who were willing to invest in the project and the talk began to go to the press. Then, Norske Bank helped and several heavy investors jumped on the bandwagon, some with a past in the painting industry. They succeeded in convincing Jordan – who was considered a very important distributor – to move on.
Next step: prototype
Prototype was the next step and Hotswap was contacted. Here, however, the ball was passed on to GT Prototypes.
"They are a supplier that works and delivers on time, it was said on Hotswap. Talk to Mattias!"
And they did, 3D files were sent to Ystad and a first prototype could be sent to Norway very quickly. Eddy was very pleased with both the process and the results.
"It was nice and professionally done – really nice, actually! And it went fast, everything fell in to place!"
Development to final production was the next stage. There was still some way to go for series production, not everything was clarified with the distribution. In this phase, Jotun entered the picture, one of the largest paint manufacturers in Europe. Additional capital could be provided and in collaboration with Hotswap and GTP, product development was taken a few steps further. Now a serious bug was discovered on ZipGreen. A late but intense phase in the development took over and four or five prototypes later, Eddy, Leif Hall at Hotswap and GTP had solved the problems. And then it was full speed ahead on the distribution side. With Jordan at the helm, the Scandinavian and British markets are – in the first place – ready. And the world market is open…
Production in Poland
The molds were manufactured in China, but the actual production takes place in Poland. From the factory, ZipGreen goes to the central warehouse in Jönköping, for further distribution to the dealers.
ZipGreen in brief
Brushes and rollers, with paint left, are placed in ZipGreen. At the bottom there are standing plastic spikes, a “hedgehog”.
- The lid is closed and pumped to a suitable negative pressure. Clear!
- ZipGreen is intended for shorter storage, so that you do not constantly clean brushes when, for example, repainting the house, something that also reduces the environmental impact.
- Theoretically, the brushes can stand in ZipGreen for a very long time.
- Built in two parts: bottom and lid, with integrated pump part.
- The trade price has not been determined, but can land somewhere at SEK 350–500, depending on the model – at home or professional use.
