Largest WTL listings

The DEFRA water scheme allows the whole cost of qualifying equipment to be claimed against tax in the first year. For larger companies the main rate of corporation tax is 28%. So when buying scrubber driers that qualify as water efficient, the purchasing company saves 28% on the cost of the machine.

For smaller companies this rate is still a healthy 21%.

Qualifying machines are listed, by model, on the Water Technology List (WTL). Scrubber drier water efficiency is measured as the area of floor cleaned per litre of water used - (m2/l).

To become DEFRA approved, walk behind scrubber driers must exceed 60 m2/l at a floor speed of 1.33 m/s, ride on machines must achieve a floor speed of 1.84 m/s.

All companies can claim purchase costs against tax in the first year.Claims can only be made on investments in new machinery and costs can include installation and transport expenses.

The Nilfisk group claims to have the greatest amount of water efficient scrubber driers approved on the WTL. Around 50 Nilfisk models are now DEFRA certified and can be found listed on the WTL site www.ecawater.

gov.uk "This is testament to the valiant efforts of our product development teams over many years," says Leigh Mason, Nilfisk Sales Director."Water is also now a significant cost factor so this initiative fits very well with our total cost of ownership focus."