Invention is very much a labour of love for Kildare entrepreneur James Kearney. He has been trying to design safer and more efficient chafer dish for over a decade, which has taken him through several business permutations. Kearney (56) now believes he has cracked it with his invention, and he set up Catalytic Burners in 2013 to bring it to fruition.

The product is a specially designed chafer – the kind of metallic dish that keeps food warm for buffets – and accompanying gas-powered burner underneath. “There are many different variations of chafing dishes available worldwide,” Kearney explains. “All these chafing dishes have one feature in common: they use hot or boiling water or other liquids in a lower basin, typically made from food-grade stainless steel, to heat the food bearing basin in an even manner.”

Market Potential

Kearney’s USPs for his product are that it uses substantially less fuel than the standard gel-fired setup, is longer-lasting and can be used with or without water, making it lighter and safer. The market potential for the chafer is considerable, given the ubiquity of the dishes in hotels, restaurants and other food-based businesses. Separately, the gas-powered burner also has potential for use in the outdoor sector.

Kearney says that he has had good feedback for his prototype and had strong expressions of interest from major catering distributors at the annual Catex exhibition. Most of the product parts are manufactured in China and market-ready versions have been made.

In Association with

Kearney comes from an entrepreneurial family. His father was a well-known businessman in Kildare town and ran a bicycle shop there for years. Kearney started out managing two betting shops and moved into the chemical industry in the early ‘90s, working for Vulkan Gas Tools and quickly showing a flair in the sector.

When Vulkan was asked by a client to create a burner for a chafing dish around 2001, Kearney was involved in that development process. A complex business period followed: Kearney was involved in ventures centred on developing his own burner designs. He diversified by forming a startup to import small motor cruisers and yachts from the US, though that business was wind down during the recession.

These days, Kearney’s focus is on finding investors to keep Catalytic Burners ticking and building demand for his energy-efficient chafer/burner invention, which he says will likely sell for around €120. “I’m looking to raise around €180,000 from investors and I have already raised about one third of that,” he says.

Patents

Financial support and mentoring would be helpful, as Kearney’s initial target markets are Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Enterprise Ireland recently invested €450,000 in another gas burner manufacturer, Eco-burner in Waterford. Kearney insists that his product is as good if not better and his confidence is evidenced by the €9,000 he has spent securing patent protection for his invention.

The inventor cum entrepreneur is satisfied that the money is well spent. “There are an estimated 25 million chafers in use worldwide in party catering, hotels and restaurants, with a five-year replacement turnover on average. We have designed and patented a chafer that is 50% more fuel efficient and safer than current chafers, and we can supply a gas burner to replace the use of gels,” he says.