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Victoria Mindova

The problems of the Greek economy and companies are widely known and they have been analyzed in detail over the past three years. It is a well-known that tens of thousands of companies have gone bankrupt from the beginning of the crisis to today and that the country has lost 25% of its GDP; there are no available funds in the market and the banks rely on European aid.

Despite all these negative examples, however, in Greece there are a number of positive ones of entrepreneurship and innovation which, with persistence, good ideas and some support, are not only withstanding the pressure of time but are also creating capital in the country. One of them is the company HYDRO PROCESS SYSTEMS LTD., which has created a device called MAX GROW.

The MAX GROW device is an electronic system which purifies water from the mineral salts that harm crops. Low-frequency radio waves eliminate the problems caused by salt water. The mechanism generates two million vibrations per second, making the removal of mineral salts easy, quick and inexpensive. It costs three thousand euro and big farmers can pay off the investment six months after purchasing the device.

The innovative electronic system would not have reached the open market if its inventor, Spiros Kombokis, had not applied to participate in the first competition "Make Innovation Work".

The competition is an initiative of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of the United States of America in Athens and it took place two years ago when the categories of innovation projects were only three, namely green energy, alternative agriculture and the shipping industry. The winners received 100 thousand dollars and a package of legal, consulting and marketing services. Their projects have already found a real business application and have been successfully marketed in Greece and abroad.

In addition, the projects were presented at last year's road show of the Athens Stock Exchange during which the entrepreneurs submitted their business plans and inventions to attract large investment funds which are able to support the wider realization of the products.

"The competition has allowed us to access resources and investors whom we would never have been able to reach alone," said Kombokis expressing his gratitude to the organizers. It has opened the doors to international markets and opportunities for development for Greek inventors in a period of economic crisis.
 
Kombokis states that he made his invention 10 years ago. "I went to all public universities and research institutions to verify the system." The complete neglect of the opportunities provided by the invention had almost made Kombokis give up the realization of the business project.

"Our participation in the competition organized by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce turns out to be a great chance for us. It has provided us with a certificate of a major institution as well as with support from institutes, economists and lawyers which we needed in order for the development to be approved. They have enabled us to present the development in other countries and also to find stable investors and trading partners who see the same capacities in the system as we do."

Kombokis believes that the most effective solutions are often the simplest. It is important to detect the problem first and seek the best possible solution for it afterwards.

This case involves the waters of Greece which have a high content of mineral salts, which reduces the quality of irrigation water for agriculture and damages crops.
 
The specialist states that the irrigation water desalination methods used so far are expensive for the producer and are not very effective. Therefore, Spiros Kombokis himself, being a working agronomist, has sought and found a solution to the problem. After many years of trying to launch his invention in the mass market, the scientist has found the necessary support. The next step is to improve his invention and develop a cheap and affordable system that will turn sea water into irrigation water.

The other two projects that have won the first competition are Multitank company in the category of green energy and Inasco Hellas in the field of transport and the shipping industry.

Multitank has replaced the usual drums for storage and transportation of foodstuffs. The innovative technology and durability of the product make it suitable for multiple uses, thus improving the competitiveness of the production and the business itself. In addition, it greatly reduces the storage space required as well as the use of harmful substances and environmental pollution.

Inasco Hellas’ invention has won the competition in the field of transport and shipping. The company has developed an industrial system for the production of high performance carbon fibre composite parts produced in autoclaves. This is an industrial system of real-time monitoring and optimization of the production of complex parts from high performance carbon fibre.