German Women's Germ-Killing UV Sanitizer For Escalators Sees Huge Demand Worldwide
A German startup called UVIS is seeing a sudden increase in demand for its product that sanitizes escalator's handrails with UV lights.
With the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus across the world, maintaining hygiene in public places has become a new norm.
Authorities of public infrastructures are now employing varying ways to maintain this hygiene. One such way is to use Ultraviolet lights.
UVIS
That is what a German startup by the name of UVIS is all about. Started by Tanja Nickel and Katharina Obladen back in 2016, the startup is based on an idea patented by the co-founders when they were still in high school.
Jump to today and the startup can hardly keep up with the orders rushing in. One reason as per Obladen, now 28, is that the pandemic ¡°has made businesses realise they need to invest in hygiene precautions for staff and customers. It's gone from nice-to-have to must-have."
Rightfully so, as such practices are increasingly finding themselves to be the law of the land. UVIS, however, did not come into being during the pandemic. The startup has since long been in business but the recent surge in demand was never seen before.
The origin
Interestingly, the idea for the coronavirus-killing escalators was inspired by the use of ultraviolet radiation to sterilise drinking water in New York City.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
The co-founders of the firm then designed a UV light box that can be fitted onto escalators to disinfect handrails. The box uses UV radiation to destroy the DNA of disease-causing microorganisms.
Further improving upon it, the duo added an antimicrobial coating to their product line-up this year, which is not based on UV technology. The invisible coating uses titanium dioxide to destroy bacteria, viruses and moulds on any surface. The coating just has to be sprayed on top of a surface.
How it works
The box mentioned above has three blue-glowing UVC lamps. These lamps emit strong UV beams inside the rectangular metal case. As the handrail of the escalator passes through the case in a continuous loop, germ-killing radiations do their part and clean the handrails of any microorganisms.
Note that UV disinfection was most commonly used in the food industry and hospitals worldwide before the outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic caused the technology to be used to clean buses and banknotes, as was seen in China.
UVIS co-founders Katharina Obladen and Tanja Nickel (R) (Image: Facebook/ UVIS)
With the Coronavirus induced lockdowns now opening up in many countries, business is booming for the startup. ¡°We¡¯ve already surpassed our revenue target for 2020,¡± said 27-year-old Nickel. Most of the demand is from Europe and Asia."
Looking ahead Obladen mentions ¡°We've had a bank asking about using UV light to disinfect money in cash machines in combination with a coating for the touchscreen."
