Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The current design of air filters for the HVAC industry pose shipping challenges for many manufacturers. Currently filters designs are lightweight and very bulky, taking up a large amount of space during shipping and translating into high shipping costs. *Duststop Air Filters Inc. has been producing Canadian-made air filters since 1981 from its manufacturing plant located in Petrolia, Ontario. The air filters serve both residential and commercial HVAC markets across North America. Duststop, continually strives to create a sustainable future by developing products to improve the quality of their customer's lives while closely evaluating the impact these products have on the environment. *Duststop is looking to design and manufacture an innovative collapsible air filter to lower shipping costs. Duststop has primarily two types of filters, a low cost fibreglass product and a nominally more expensive pleated version. Both have rigid frames but opportunities exist for compressing the filter media by changes to the rigid frame design.*The purpose of the proposed project is to investigate the development of a collapsible air filter that will enable a higher quantity of air filters to be packaged within the same shipping carton. The result of this project will allow Duststop to reduce shipping costs as well as to reduce their carbon footprint on the environment by optimizing the shipping process and thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.The new product development could potentially be patented, providing a competitive advantage for Duststop over competitors in this cost driven market.*