The Company
PowerPrize Limited started as a new products R&D company. It is managed by Dr Efim Rabinovitch, a scientist and author of many granted patents, who founded the company in London in 1998. He received his PhD from St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University 'LETI' in 1988. Before that he got a MSc from Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) in 1978 and BSc from Tbilisi State University in 1972.
Dr Rabinovitch was inspired to start working on the lifesaving secure letter box by an arson attack through a letter box reported in the Evening Standard in May 2000 that killed four generations of one family.
Further research showed that this was not an isolated accident. Deliberate fire setting is a national problem in the UK. Last year (2009) across London, over 13,000 fires were started deliberately. Fire is often introduced into a property through the letter box by using easily obtainable liquid inflammable like petrol or fireworks, etc. Fire started in this area effectively cuts off main route of escape.
In the House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 May 2001 (pt 13) Mr. Hawkins said: "It is not hard to envisage the consequences of such an unpleasant attack, in which petrol is poured through someone's letter box and set alight. We see that all too frequently in our towns and inner cities. In many of those tragic cases of criminal arson, people in the house have no connection with the subject of the grudge attack, and young children have been burned to death."
Police service reports that 95% of deliberate fire offences in dwellings involve accelerants introduced through the letterplate. Police also estimates that 5% of high-value vehicles in the UK were stolen by stealing car keys through a letterplate.
Arson is a growing problem for businesses too. Each year there are over 3,100 arson attacks on shops, cafes and small businesses. Arson claims cost over half (51%) of all insurance claims for businesses made in the last quarter of 2006 and the number of cases was further up by nearly 19% in the first half of 2007.
The current and the emerging situations are reasons enough for concern to the public, the fire security and police sectors. ACPO Crime Prevention Initiatives arranged a meeting in 2007 in order to discuss the situation with letter box related crime attacks on a property and to consider separate provision for the depositing of mail. The letter box crime shocking statistics make it obvious that the currently used letter box products are unfit for purpose.
However, clearly it is much more convenient and safe to have your mail delivered through the front door letter box rather than having to walk out into the cold and rain to retrieve your mail from the outdoors fitted mail box. Plus you would be letting warm air out through the open door and the mail box is often subjected to vandalism and mail theft. Add to that the nuisance of the locks and keys that tend to get lost.
Besides, it is a legal requirement in the UK since 19th century that the mail "must go through" the door and there are millions of domestic and non-domestic properties with a letterplate that needs protection.
There are products on the market purporting to solve the problem with letter box security. However, as a matter of fact, none of them is up to the job.
For example, the product for simply locking the letterplate defeats the purpose of the letter box. It will disrupt the mail delivery - that is for sure, so it is not an option.
A few products in the form of 'anti-arson' fireproof letter boxes are designed to firstly contain any flammable liquid poured through the letterbox. After the problem, such as fire, had started, it is supposed to be automatically extinguished by a heat sensitive automatic fire extinguishing system fitted inside.
The concept of fitting a fire extinguisher into a private letter box seems bizarre and has many disadvantages. For example, a small fire extinguisher fitted inside the letter box may cope with a piece of burning paper (this is what they like to demonstrate in product adverts), but it would be useless in stopping the real world threat when litres of petrol are poured in.
The fire extinguishing action may begin only after the problem, such as fire, had started. This may be too late to stop the explosion from a petrol vapour (takes only 100msec) and cannot protect against noxious substances that do not give rise to temperature. After all, you do not want to find your letter box full of urine! Also, there is no protection against the second and further arson attempts; the fire extinguisher needs evidence of certification, periodic tests and replacement (each time adding over 30% extra cost to the product's initial price); the products cannot be fitted at door bottom level, etc.
It was a huge challenge to create a letter box solution that would meet the new needs of the 21st century. The main challenge was to make it super secure with expulsion of liquids out, rather than liquids containment, and maintenance-free without a fire-extinguisher. Expulsion of liquids out is vital since they are often used in letter box arson attacks and inflammable liquid accelerants are more dangerous than solid ones: they give out twice as much heat from the same mass and burn twice as fast.
Further, the new letter box had to be suitable for non-invasive fitting to most doors and door materials at any level (to mid-rail that spans the middle of the door and bottom-rail that spans the bottom of the door). And furthermore, it had to be economically viable for the customers even if an accident, such as letter box arson or letter box vandalism, would never happen at their home or business property.
The company has completed research, conceptual design and development stages of a revolutionary new concept for letter/mail box design and engineering. A portfolio of key patents was secured.Samples of the new brand IdealGuard™ products were developed, manufactured, tested and demonstrated to a number of trades. They were also exhibited at the International FireExpo2007 in NEC Birmingham.
IdealGuard™ is a Trade Mark for the patented secure letter/mail box products, which were designed and developed by PowerPrize Limited. IdealGuard™ products are groundbreaking. Not only all the above challenges were met by the products, but they exceeded the best expectations for a secure letter box by far. IdealGuard™ products are built for those discriminating customers who demand the most superior performance and the best value for money available in the world. Secure by design, they generated evident buzz in the industry, received remarkably good testimonials from professionals and were awarded with a number of publications in professional media.
Millions of UK homes waste hundreds of pounds a year because of the unprotected letter box. With the swingeing cuts outlined in the new budget, there has simply never been a better time to make efficiencies to your household budget. Bring down your energy bills now by fitting IdealGuard™.
Recently the IdealGuard™ cutting edge concept was translated into the commercial arena with more advanced multifunctional IdealGuard™ secure letter box products. These lifesaving, ethical and green products, which pay for themselves, are highly beneficial for customers. IdealGuard™ unique products are now exclusively available to buy from PowerPrize Limited. Do not miss this opportunity of a lifetime that would result in tremendous benefits for you, your family or business.
IdealGuard™ IS THE MOST ADVANCED SECURE LETTER BOX, WHICH IS MAINTENANCE-FREE, PAYS FOR ITSELF AND INTEGRATES MULTIPLE BENEFITS IN ONE PRODUCT