Suntoy promises to give our planet a brighter future by making every hour a solar-power-hour.
Don’t be left in the dark. Stay illuminated. The best stocking filler for Christmas is the Consol Solar Jar. Load shedding/rolling blackouts/power outages… the perfect South African ingredient for promoting the Consol Solar Jar. Lighten ‘their’ load.
Two lights-OFF events are presently on our calendars. The first, load shedding, has everyone complaining, “Ah no, not again.” The second, Earth Hour, has everyone agreeing, “Yes, let’s!” If every load shedding hour included the positivity of an Earth Hour, there’d be a happy public relations feat instead of a collective grumpy sigh.
Earth Hour 2015 occurs in the midst of the urgent need to find solutions to our current energy crisis in South Africa. Every South African is attuned to the critical state of our national power grid. Sunshine is abundantly available and renewable solar energy lightens our national power supplier’s load.
Suntoy invites you all to create your own solar-lit celebration with the Consol Solar Jar, harmoniously off-grid and lights-ON (even while the world’s lights are off!). Join us in adding to the solar-generated brightness of eve at home, in your garden or with friends at a party this Saturday, 28 March, during Earth Hour from 20:30 to 21:30.
Suntoy promises to give our planet a brighter future by making every hour a solar-power-hour.
Hoteliers are adopting green building measures to accommodate tourists wanting to lessen their environmental impact while globetrotting. Hotel Verde in Cape Town offers a carbon-neutral stay. It doesn’t just observe one earth friendly hour a year but celebrates its greenness 365 days per annum.
The staff is enthusiastic about sustainability, trained in energy efficiency methods and passionate about the Solar Jar ™. Every Wednesday, they invite guests to join them for energy conservation awareness evenings. All unnecessary lights are switched off and solar lights are switched on. Diners enjoy live acoustic music and a specially prepared menu including pizza baked in a wood fired oven. Visitors are amazed when reminded that they’re at an airport hotel.
In March, Hotel Verde hosted Earth Hour. The event was wonderfully received with a prize of a Solar Jar ™. Our partners, Sonnenglas, joined the eve of solar light and snapped these photos.
The wire used in the assemblage of the Solar Jar ™ is 90% recycled. Suntoy procures it from Cape Gate where post consumer scrap metal is collected, sorted and refined. All raw materials are of South African origin and the smelting, rolling and wire manufacturing process is done locally.
By recycling wire, a lesser quantity of new material is required during the wire-making process and the amount of discarded metal dumped into landfills is reduced. By consciously choosing ‘green wire’ and upcycling it into the bracing and handle of the Solar Jar ™, our product is made that much more environmentally friendly.
Read about our team of Suntoy wire artisans here.
“Thanks for the interesting tour of your operation. It is good to see where our wire products are used and the end product.” – Derek Erxleben, Head Metallurgy, Cape Gate
The Suntoy team is excited to be partnering with Kaya FM 95.9 in their #LightUpALife campaign. This Kaya Cares event is a Mandela Day initiative. Lighting up a life, one child at a time is imperative to creating a future absent of darkness and shining with brightness. A Solar Jar is a gift worth giving.
Suntoy has donated 192 Solar Jars. The M’Khaya team has distributed the Solar Jars to child-headed households at Othandweni Children’s Home in Soweto and Rays of Hope Orphanage in Alexandria, Gauteng. The campaign was launched on the Bob Mabena morning show in preparation for rollout.
In Jozi city, our lives revolve around the daunting load-shedding schedule. At Suntoy, we are off-grid and production continues regardless of stages one to three. We’re one of the lucky ones.
For many children though, there are no load shedding stages… simply darkness… every night. More than 1.4million South Africans live without electricity in informal settlements across our country. Scholars aren’t able to complete their homework or study in the dark. A solar-powered reading light charges in the sun during the day and welcomes the children home at sunset. No electricity or candles needed. An unplugged light source – similar to KayaFM’s unplugged live studio sessions featuring South African musicians.
Join us, M’Khaya. Do your part! #LightUpALife
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Please note: Faces of orphans in photographs have been blurred to protect identities. The Kaya FM team shared these two photos.
Team Suntoy is proud to introduce the improved Consol Solar Jar. The Consol Solar Jar has been admired for the last three years. Now, this solar-powered light is significantly enlightened, making for an improved offering.
Familiar features we’ve loved are still present – the classic Consol preserve jar, unique flip switch and wire carry handle. Innovative enhancements stem from the electronics redesign. Here are additional features making the Consol Solar Jar your most valued solar powered light:
LiFE Battery
A long-lasting LiFe (Lithium Iron) Battery, similar to those used in cellphones, replaces the original solar batteries. If fully charged, it endures for up to 12 hours.
Load-Shedding Find Me
The load-shedding attribute is a plus for our South African environs. During a sudden power outage, the Consol Solar Jar automatically lights up for a few seconds so it can be located easily. Our team calls it the Find Me feature.
Day/Night Energy Saver
An energy-saving day/night feature prevents the Consol Solar Jar from turning on automatically during daylight. When darkness falls, it automatically turns on to light the night.
Stainless Steel Ring
The ring enclosing the solar panel is now stainless steel – watertight and rust-free.
Battery Indicator
A state-of-battery-charge indicator flashes when the light is turned on or off. Five flashes indicate full, one flash indicates empty, letting you know when it is time to recharge.
Recharge Flash
When the battery is empty, the white indicator pulses every two seconds to show it needs to be recharged.
Micro USB Charger
A micro USB charge plug has been designed for our European consumer base where sunlight is scarce. Connecting a micro USB cellphone charger results in the charge indicator flashing.
Brighter Light
The brightness has been improved, while retaining a good runtime, with LED’s specifically designed for the Consol Solar Jar by Plessey in the UK.
The new and improved Consol Solar Jar is currently available in retail locally across South Africa and abroad in Europe.
“We had fun redesigning the Consol Solar Jar and trust you will have fun using it.”
– Harald Schulz, Suntoy Technical and Managing Director
Jean Phillippe Daulaud, a French national, has lived in Mauritius for quite a few years and upon spending his honeymoon in Cape Town in 2012, he stumbled across a Consol Solar Jar for the first time. JP was so fond of his new discovery, that he purchased two before returning to Mauritius. That was 3 years ago. At the end of 2014, JP would have drinks with Nick Wiehe, an Irish national. They became good friends and spoke about business ideas for the Consol Solar Jar. They decided on a plan to distribute the Consol Solar Jars to the exclusivity niche market they had identified – The Indian Ocean Islands.
Fast forwarding to the present day, Nick and JP have both been fully involved in their new business venture since August 2015 this year, having successfully distributed the Consol Solar Jars through a number of hotels to their guests. In addition to the Consol Solar Jar creating an environmentally friendly consciousness, it beautifully complements the hospitality industry and also serves as a precious keepsake for visitors to the island to fondly remember their time spent in such a magical location.
For JP and Nick, marketing the Consol Solar Jar is much more than a means of earning a living and sharing a social consciousness, they also realise the importance of sustainability, which is why “The Mauritian Sunshine for Children In Need” campaign was created affording a child in need, a free Jar for every 2 Jars sold. Not only will this remarkable campaign shed some light into the lives of those who need it most, it will also serve to educate the next generation on the importance of renewable energy.
They also made a ‘Solar Jar Caravan’ to show the Consol Solar Jar in each part of the Island and meet people from every social environment. “We do not wait for clients in the shops, we are always trying to meet them in the villages to speak to them about the importance of solar energy, and the Consol Solar Jar is perfect for them to have their first solar experience” say Nick & JP.
Managing the other islands in the Indian Ocean especially Reunion, Seychelles and Madagascar, Nick and JP are confident for the future success of the Consol Solar Jar with each island having their own local agent.
We look forward to further successful endeavors from the Indian Ocean Islands, and are proud of the fact that the Consol Solar Jar has achieved an almost impossible feat:
Making the already dazzling beauty of Mauritius shine just a little bit brighter!
Back in 2011 nobody envisaged that the product which we designed for Consol Glass would gain popularity to the extent that it has and that production would reach this point so fast.
Starting off in a garage in Glenhove, with four staff making the initial 400 units, (which took us the best part of a month), then moving to a 500m2 property in Selby where we produced the first 200k, production has now increased by an additional 60k per month, with capacity to reach 80k:
Arriving at this point involved hiring and training a staff compliment of 62 strong, together with the logistics of introducing high-tech machinery to stream line production.
Today our factory is located in Village Deep on a 1500m2 roofed property in one of the first mining areas established in Johannesburg. This location has proved beneficial due to ease of traffic access for staff traveling from Soweto and Alexandra. Being in the heart of JHB Central also embraces our “Made with Love in South Africa” motto.
In earlier years, distribution of our Consol Solar Jars through our partner Consol Glass was a local-only initiative. Since the first export in April 2013 international demand has surpassed local demand, and our focus has therefore shifted to export initiatives, assisted by our many overseas distributors.
Together we are assuring growth and sustainability moving forward.
We thank Consol Glass and our overseas distributors; especially Sonnenglas and everybody who has assisted us by purchasing a Consol Solar Jar.
As Abel Masakale of Consol Glass said during a 2012 interview: “It is such a lovely item; every South African should own at least two”.
The Consol Solar Jar™ has made its way to the Capital of Senegal where Soraya Baalbaki – an inspired individual who decided to introduce and distribute Proudly South African products in West Africa, has been introducing this fresh lighting concept that she says “is a guaranteed success in West Africa as not only does it provide safe and environmentally friendly light but is also widely used as a decorative feature for many different events”.
Senegal is a country on Africa’s West Coast known for its French colonial heritage and natural attractions. Dakar, the capital, features the ancient Médina district and esteemed Musée Théodore Monod, displaying African art. Dakar is also known for its nightlife and native Mbalax music, where one can expect to find the inevitable presence of the infamous Consol Solar Jar™ lighting up the night skies and setting the stage for fun and entertainment by a different kind of light!
The Consol Solar Jar™ is certainly doing its rounds on our globe and creating quite a buzz in its midst. As soon as we know more about how the Solar Jar found its way to Senegal and what else it has been up to, we will be sure to let our readers in on all the exciting details.
The Senegal Distribution Team
