Xylem Recognized By GOOD DESIGN Program For Innovation, Humanitarianism

Saajhi Stepping Pump receives world’s most prestigious design award 

Xylem Inc.’s Saajhi Stepping Pump received a 2014 GOOD DESIGN award in the humanitarian category for its contributions to the smallholder farmer in developing nations. The GOOD DESIGN program recognizes new consumer products from around the world in 25 categories for design and innovation. The awards receive several thousand entries from companies in 47 countries.

Developed in 2013 through Xylem’s Essence of Life initiative, the Saajhi pump uses human weight and motion to move water. It was designed to help smallholder farmers in rural areas to irrigate their land more efficiently. 

“To be recognized by the international design community is a high honor and speaks greatly to the research and development capabilities of the entire Xylem team,” said Keith Teichmann, director of innovative networks and marketing, Xylem. “By striving to deliver the most innovative products for our customers — in developed or emerging markets — our company is changing the way people look at the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water.”

The Saajhi pump is part of the Essence of Life initiative, which works with citizens and public and private partners to understand the needs of, and develop solutions for, rural farmers in developing nations. The pump aids farmers in cultivating crops for sale, improving their economic standing within their communities and supporting sustainable rural enterprise. The Saajhi has already improved production for rural farmers, tripling crop yield over rain-fed fields and reducing labor by more than 25 percent over traditional furrow irrigation.  

The GOOD DESIGN awards were established in 1950 to recognize the best in contemporary design and have included products from the paperclip to a NASA spaceship. The awards are presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies. Products in the GOOD DESIGN contest are judged for quality design in terms of innovation, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, and energy efficiency and sensitivity to the environment. Award-winning products and designs will be part of the museum’s permanent design collection and exhibited in the U.S. and abroad.  

To learn more about GOOD DESIGN, visit: chi-athenaeum.org/about-good-design.html.

To learn more about Xylem’s Essence of Life initiative, visit xyleminc.com/en-us/sustainability/essence-of-life/Pages/default.aspx. 

About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands, and its people bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on finding local solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. Xylem is headquartered in Rye Brook, N.Y., with 2013 revenues of $3.8B and more than 12,500 employees worldwide. Xylem was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the last three years for advancing sustainable business practices and solutions worldwide.

The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all — that which occurs in nature. For more information, visit www.xyleminc.com.