When it comes to purifying water, buddies Alan Flight and Alan Lester have a clear vision.

The pair spent 18 months developing a new product, dubbed the advanced crystalisation process, which has the potential to save money on heating bills for schools, hospitals, civic centres and a variety of public buildings.

The device, known as the ACP, uses long-established science to clear limescale from pipes and boilers. Fitted into the mains of a building, it works by putting a minute amount of zinc into the water, which disperses the formulation of limescale.

The reason for the product is simple. A 1mm lining of scale in pipes can increase a heating bill by 15%. After the ACP was tested by the University of Surrey, it showed a fivefold reduction in build-up.

Mr Lester and Mr Flight, who both run companies in the water purification industry, discovered the method was being used in large-scale industries – onboard ships and in power stations – but that no one had developed it for the building services market.

They set up their firm, Brightwater Technology, from Mr Flight’s home in Stalisfield, near Faversham, in a race to secure funding and create the product. After an intense period of research and development, the company launched the device in September.

It has already signed export agreements with distributors in the Philippines, Indonesia, Columbia and the Caribbean. It expects to reach deals shortly in the USA, India and several EU countries.

“We found a product which worked but had not been developed properly,” said Mr Lester, who lives in Challock, near Ashford. “We thought, if we take this, which is scientifically proven, and make it better, we will have a market-winning product.”

The pair were able to carry out their research and development after securing a £90,000 interest-free loan from Kent County Council. The cash came from its TIGER scheme, which lent more than £5.5 million to 51 businesses shortly after the financial crisis.

“The loan has been very helpful and we wouldn’t have had our success without it..." - Alan Lester, Brightwater Technology

The loan, which will be repaid by September 2020, did not pay for a roof over their heads but gave them sufficient capital to invest in the product, which they would not have been able to muster for several years from their other water businesses.

The gamble paid off for the council, which has lost more than £3 million lent to firms which have since gone bust. Mr Lester said the firm would be able to create jobs, employing four people by 2020.

Sales came in at more than £15,000 in 2016 and Brightwater is anticipating revenues of about £98,000 by the end of this year.

If things go well, it is targeting £396,000 of sales by the end of 2018, by which point the business will start making a profit.

Mr Lester said: “The loan has been very helpful and we wouldn’t have had our success without it.

“It has been a part-time project for me and Alan.

“We have other business interests, which have sustained us, but we got there in the end and now we have a really good product.”