Transforming silt
Kuo’s business has its roots in the Agongdian Reservoir in Kaohsiung’s Yanchao District. Geologically speaking, Taiwan is a young and fractured land. Heavy rainfall frequently washes large amounts of earth and gravel out of our fragile highlands and down into reservoirs like Agongdian, where it accumulates and reduces their storage capacity.
The 4 million tons of silt that build up in Taiwan’s reservoirs every year are an ongoing headache for our water management agencies. When Kuo was pursuing his PhD in civil engineering at National Cheng Kung University more than a decade ago, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (now the National Development Council) asked his advisor, Huang Jong-shin, to research applications for the difficult-to-dispose-of reservoir silt.
Huang’s team developed a method for reforming reservoir silt, turning it into a gas-permeable, water-resistant cement additive that also prevents efflorescence. These properties make it very useful in construction and renovation. Once Kuo finished his degree, he formed TecHome, NCKU’s first spin-off company, to sell the additive under the “Lotos” brand name.
Kuo admits that transitioning from R&D to running a company has not been easy, noting that building a market is tougher than developing a technology. In fact, it took the 13-year-old company seven years to turn its first profit. Asked why he didn’t just transfer the technology to another company and enjoy the fruits of his labor, he says: “I had to do it myself to maintain the brand’s spirit and ideals. Most companies are profit seeking. If they don’t make money on something within a few years, they pull out of the market.” Patting the portrait on the wall, he laughs, “That’s why I say this image is so important.”
Most Taiwanese have seen efflorescence in a home at some point. The surface breakdown that it can cause in cement walls is known as “wall cancer” in Taiwan. Modern construction uses a great deal of cement, which absorbs moisture more easily than it releases it. Taiwan’s warm, humid climate makes efflorescence common and has given rise to the belief that it cannot be treated. However, adding Lotos to the cement plaster used to surface a wall can completely resolve the problem.
In the company’s early days, Kuo planned to begin by selling to construction companies, not realizing that firms in traditional industries were very conservative, and that the larger the company, the less willing it would be to try something new. Forced to change course, he built an online sales platform and set his sights on the general public. He even ventured onto the front lines himself by filming educational videos and writing articles to answer consumers’ questions.
(photo courtesy of Nini-Mumu)