Uponor and Belkin are investing an additional USD $12 million, $6 million each, into their joint venture company, Phyn, in 2019. The new investment will be used for ongoing research and product development for smart water solutions as well as continuing efforts to grow in the North American and European markets.
“We launched Phyn Plus to the European markets this March, first in Finland, Sweden, France and Spain, and other European countries will follow later during the year,” said Jyri Luomakoski, president and CEO, Uponor Corp. “Our customers have shown great interest in the new product, but creating a new product category takes time and patience. Therefore, additional investment was needed.”
Phyn Plus smart water assistant + shutoff is a smart home device that continuously monitors a home’s entire plumbing system to detect leaks, conserve water and save money. Using patented machine-learning technology, the device measures tiny changes in water pressure to detect plumbing issues in real time and can remotely shut off the main water supply to prevent costly damage.
It provides granular detail on water usage allowing homeowners to view water consumption across fixtures such as sinks, toilets, showers and sprinkler systems all through the Phyn app.
“Since introducing Phyn Plus to the North American market in April 2018, several exciting enhancements have been made,” said Bill Gray, president, Uponor North America.
Those enhancements, he added, include a web-based portal for property management companies, insurance providers, municipalities and others to monitor multiple Phyn Plus units across large portfolios; an early freeze alert before frozen pipes become an issue; integration with Amazon Alexa voice commands; and a new app feature that provides granular insights into water use by fixture type.
Uponor Corp. and Belkin International Inc. formed the joint venture in July 2016 to pioneer the development of water sensing and conservation technology for buildings. A joint venture company was formed both in the USA and in Europe. Both Uponor and Belkin have a 50 percent share in the joint venture.