In our blog, we love to write about our exciting water conservation technologies, but we have never featured the mind whose continuous efforts has elevated our products’ functionality, reliability and ingenuity. Today, we interview Ned Goldsmith, VP Water Conservation, about his innovation process and how he ended up working for Falcon Waterfree Technologies.

When did you start working for Falcon?

In my past life, I ran an ice hockey equipment company.  I had grown up playing hockey and dreamed of playing professionally as a goalie. I was a skinny kid, so to help me move faster I started making my own light weight equipment. While I failed at becoming a professional, the equipment became a hit. Once I joined Easton Sports, I did the same with the “Synergy” once piece stick technology– a worldwide hit that is still used by most elite players around the world today.

It was a great experience, but over time, I thought about using my aptitude for invention in the sustainability world. Around that time, Simon Davis joined the company and brought a new vision– Falcon would be a technology leader focused on water savings.  He opened the door to me, and in late 2012, I became part of the family.  Within a few months, we began in earnest to develop a new product line.  The rest, as they say, is history…

What are you inspired by?

I’m inspired by people and creative problem solving. Diversity is really important to me – as it broadens the perspective. I love the moment when a group of people get together and are able to find the right puzzle piece to define a path – I guess you could call that innovation.

How does your process work?

My creative process consists of mostly just listening. There are so many technologies out there, but very few understand the true needs of the customer. The next step is to assemble the existing technologies into a new recipe that meets our customers’ needs. 

What is your favorite part within that process?

I love the problem solving.  It’s the most fun.  Fun is critical – because if you don’t enjoy what you are doing, you are mediocre at it – and in our new world, there is always someone who will do it better than you if the passion isn’t there.

What products are you most proud of?

Tough one.  I suppose the Synergy hockey stick from my past and the new Hybrid Urinal from Falcon. But, we have some stuff in the hopper right now that is even better!  The next 12-18 months are going to be fun.

Are there any new technological trends catching your attention? Which ones would you like to try in the future?

The list is long – but I like products that combine technologies in some way that provides a “best of both worlds” solution – like a water saving shower that still feels great rather than feeling like you can’t get your hair wet.  More on that in the future…

 

Last month, Bill McDonnell from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) awarded Century Park (our customer of many years) the Water Efficiency Project of the Year for their revolutionary groundwater reclamation project. Century Park’s new water reclamation project will enable the facility to supply 100% of it is own water for irrigation, without buying a drop from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)- even during current extreme drought conditions.

In 1928, William Fox built a personal cowboy ranch for movie legend Tom Mix in the once grand and sprawling 20th Century Fox Studios. Thirty years later, the 176 acre site became Century Park, a historical landmark with two gleaming aluminum skyscrapers and a bustling metropolitan center stands where western stars – such as Tom Mix and John Wayne – once galloped into the sunset. Today, nearly a century later, one of American cinema’s golden age studios now plays a starring role in the water conservation initiatives of Los Angeles.

With California facing one of the most severe droughts on record, Century Park has resolved to find pioneering water-saving solutions to comply with  strict conservation measures.

One of these solutions is the Century Park’s use of water-efficient technologies such as Falcon’s water free urinals and cartridges, leak detection and repairs which came as a direct response to the mandate to conserve water in Southern California.  Although, the results have exceeded their expectations, Century Park decided that it is crucial to invest in more drought resilient initiatives.

Century Park sits on top of an aquifer containing non-potable water. The location, covered by a 14 acre combination of drought-tolerant and non-tolerant landscape, highlighted the importance of implementing an irrigation project that could help minimize their irrigation needs, which averages an astounding 6,000 to 10,000 gallons per day.

In order to become self-sustaining, Century Park will construct three, subterranean 10,000-gallon storage tanks for water reclamation. The project will utilize eight large pumps to continuously discharge ground water from the lowest level of the underground parking garage. Then, the water will be discharged into the storm drain system after being analyzed for more than 20 chemical constituents by a third party laboratory.

The groundwater reclamation project will be utilized for landscape irrigation, reducing combustion of DWP-purchase water by 100% and saving 2.9 million gallons of water a year. The recover water will lead the sustainability initatives of the area and offset expenses for project implementation.

Congratulations Century Park, we couldn’t be prouder of what you have accomplished. Your conservation efforts are greatly appreciated!

CLICK HERE  to find out where to find out more about Falcon Waterfree Technologies, and conserve water TODAY!

As sustainable building design has evolved, the market has moved to minimize water consumption through decreasing the volume of urinal fixture flush rates. What was once a forceful flush of 1 or 2 gallons, has now become a trickling of a pint of water through a building’s infrastructure- ultimately creating unanticipated performance issues in a system built for high volume flushes.  

At Falcon, we believe that conservation should not sacrifice performance and today, we are excited to introduce the new Hybrid Retrofit Urinal to our collection of high performance technology driven water conservation products.  With all the same benefits of the New Construction Hybrid Urinal, the Retrofit Hybrid – available through Sloan Valve Company – conserves nearly 100% of water and can now easily upgrade almost all existing flush urinals to high performance Hybrid technology.

By merging the best attributes of the waterfree technology (100% water savings) with the best of flushing technology (high volume flushing), we have created the most hygienic, water-saving, high performance urinal available. Revolutionary in it’s design, our Hybrid Urinals do not require water after each use and are not dependent on users to flush. Instead, our Hybrid Urinals utilize a multi-patent pending flush system that automatically performs a full gallon (4 liter) flush through the housing and pipe system every 72 hours, adding up to only 102 gallons a year total – regardless of the users.  This timed large volume of water flushing through the system prevents hard scale build-up (often formed in pipes from trickling of high concentrate urine-water), while earning maximum LEED credits,  guaranteeing water savings and delivering unrivaled performance and functionality.  

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The combination of our world-class patented Velocity cartridge, along with our self-cleaning hybrid urinal technology, will keep your drain lines clean and odor-free.

Join the water conservation revolution and try one of our Hybrid Urinals, the environment and your maintenance staff will thank you.

Since the invention of our waterfree urinal technology, we have taken pride in listening to our customer demands and innovating water conservation solutions that do not sacrifice product functionality.  This is a guide to our continuous efforts to offer the highest performance technology-driven restroom water conservation products.

Our story began in 1999, when a German engineer fervently believed that flushing a urinal was a waste of water. Urine is already a generally sterile liquid, and gravity could drain it completely without a flush. A year later, the C1M1 made its debut in the restroom market.

The water-free urinal not only saved water. It also reduced the carbon footprint, since a fifth of California’s electrical output is consumed by processing and pumping water. The original design was well received by the public. However, the implementation of this new technology brought to our attention troubling gaps between our R&D and the inherent value of our technology, overcoming these challenges became our primary focus.

With additional research and development, Falcon released the C1M2 in 2005. It included a diverter shield to help retain sealant, a diverter to reduce splash and it was easier to remove. The military tested the urinals at Fort Huachucha, a base in southern Arizona. Our “flushless” urinals shorten water consumption by millions of gallons. As a result, the US Army Corp of Engineers mandated in 2006 to install only waterless urinals from 2010 onward.

After carefully reviewing the C1M2 latest design features, Falcon decided to include an additional splash-reducing shape, better odor reducing technology and internal mechanisms to improve the cartridge’s sealant retention. Six years later, the C1M2+ was introduced in the market. This time around, large-scale facilities across the country such as Rose Bowl Stadium and Las Vegas Motor Speedway switched to water free urinals.

Last and certainly not least, the Velocity cartridge debuted on the market in 2014.  It includes 6 new patent pending features that help: keep facilities pipes and housing cleaner, retain sealant better, visually cue a cartridge change and reduce environmental footprint.  After installing 300+ Falcon urinals over the past few years, Staples Center has not only reduced maintenance costs, but has also saved huge quantities of water- 57 million gallons in fact. An incredible fact given Staple’s Center location in drought-stricken Los Angeles.

Our urinal cartridge technology is a result of our ongoing efforts to provide the highest quality products for our customers, directly derived from advanced market research and technology development.  The revolutionary technology of our new cartridge design ensures top quality performance that is both easy to maintain and helps keep your restroom odor-free.