New technology is giving families in need of funeral services more reason to consider cremation.

"Family members are able to say goodbye and view their loved one before the crematory process begins and are able to stay in the same room with them until the process is completed," said Scott Mason, director of the Adams Mason Funeral Home and Crematory in Akron, Ohio.

"This allows private time with the loved one and time for closure."

Adams Mason's new cremator, purchased in October for $250,000, is being called the first of its kind in North America. It was made by Facultatieve Technologies and manufactured in Medina, Ohio, the U.S. headquarters for the Dutch company.

It is said to be more fuel-efficient, more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

"It cost a third less to operate," Mason said, noting that he is able to pass on savings to his clients.

Industrywide, traditional funerals average about $6,000 in expenses; cremations, about $3,000. Mason said a funeral and cremation at Adams Mason is less than $3,500 and a simple cremation is less than $1,200.

"The simple goodbye service is more for those who want a private moment and not a brass band," he said.

Mason said his company tries to keep family wishes in mind so that cremation is respectful and priced for anyone.

"We thought we had the state-of-the art machines, which were purchased in 2003, but then I learned about this equipment at a convention for the Cremation Association of North America," he said.

The process has been shortened from six to seven hours to about two hours. Cremation itself takes 70 to 75 minutes, but there are preheating and cooling periods.

The cremator weighs 30 tons, is 12 to 13 feet long and 9 feet wide. "It can accommodate large people, up to 1,000 pounds, so the person still is handled in a respectful and safe manner," he said.

Mason said the funeral home uses a cherry or oak wood casket for a funeral or memorial service and the casket has a lining between it and a box used for the cremation.

There are options if the family doesn't want to wait in the same room. The family can gather to reminisce, have a meal, view a video or watch the outside of the cremation process.

The family can also go home with the ashes of the deceased, something that wasn't possible before because of the lengthy process. The funeral home had to wait until the next day to deliver the ashes to a family.

Mason said 90 percent of the funeral home's business is cremations. The funeral home had 660 cremations last year and anticipates up to 1,000 this year.

Tom Snyder, vice president of sales and marketing for Facultatieve Technologies, said there are only 12 such machines in operation in the United States so far -- in Ohio, California and North Carolina.

He said the machine has three sizes, ranging in price from $80,000 to $150,000.

"This is not a fad. Many countries with high populations are choosing cremations, and the United States is moving more toward that trend," Snyder said. "Cremation continues to grow in every market."