Richmond-based Cupron has more than just germ fighting socks up its sleeve.
Cupron and another Virginia company have teamed up to create a countertop that essentially cleans itself.
The secret, Cupron Executive Chairman Paul Rocheleau said, is infusing the surface with copper ions.
“The copper particles are actually embedded into the countertop, and they’re always working,” Rocheleau said.
Copper works as a broad spectrum antimicrobial, with the ability to kill a wide variety of bacteria, fungi and viruses. The copper will work indefinitely, constantly disinfecting the surface.
Cupron has been working with the sanitizing powers of copper since the company was founded Israel about 10 years ago. Three years ago, a group of investors purchased the company and moved it to Richmond.
Until recently, Cupron worked primarily with fabrics, creating copper-infused hospital garments, bed sheets and other linens. Cupron supplies socks for the Israeli military and sent a batch of socks to the trapped Chilean miners in 2010.
EOS Surfaces, founded about seven years ago and based in Norfolk, manufactures polymer-based acrylic countertops. EOS President Ken Trinder said he met Rocheleau about two years ago and saw a wide range of applications for blending the copper ions into EOS products, particularly in the medical arena.
Burl Rolett. July 20, 2012. http://www.richmondbizsense.com/
See full article: http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2012/07/20/the-self-cleaning-countertop/
