GIRBAU’S GREAT COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION IN LAUNDRY IN FAVOR OF THE SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN HEALTH

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed almost every aspect of life, from the personal (how people live, coexist, and work) to the professional (how companies interact with their customers, how customers choose and buy products and services, how supply chains deliver them).

The result of these changes has caused many economic sectors to adapt, reinvent their activity, or transform their work practices. Industrial laundry has not been immune to all these changes and has faced the pandemic with multiple innovations.

Innovation in the laundry sector has focused mainly on three areas: protection of health personnel, protection of citizens, and prevention to avoid future infections.

During the first months of the pandemic, sanitation and security were two important axes that had a strong impact on the laundry sector. In this initial stage, one of the main objectives was to ensure PPE’S disinfection processes for reuse. In this sense, several companies focused their efforts on the fight against coronavirus using infrared technology and ultraviolet light, among other techniques, for the disinfection of FFP2 and FFP3 masks, the most efficient and the rarest among the hospitals.

The context generated by Covid-19 and the shortage of safety equipment was the origin of the project started by Girbau Lab to respond to this need and identify new solutions beyond disinfection. Thus, he approached the HeiQ company that potentially had a solution that could be applied to textiles by adding extra protection and antiviral properties.

From project to reality

After identifying the potential of antiviral textile technology, it took more than 9 months of testing to ensure that HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 could be applied to ready-made clothing through the laundering process. With this guarantee, Girbau began its path to apply Heiq Viroblock in its natural market, providing a new value to laundries and their customers, a differential value linked to people’s health and applicable both at an industrial level and in self-service.

HeiQ and Girbau incorporate HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 in the laundering process, which will allow adding antiviral and antimicrobial effects to clothes and textiles.

The participation of Girbau’s innovation platform, Girbau LAB, has been fundamental to detect the need and identify HeiQ as the company that had the solution, carry out the tests and structure the project so that it evolves towards a viable and sustainable solution for Girbau and the market. Girbau LAB collaborated with local companies such as Bionet (Grup Gepork) or Lenard, to overcome the difficulties involved in starting their tests during the perimeter confinement.

The alliance between Girbau and HeiQ is an example of how Girbau Lab tirelessly searches the market for new technologies, solutions, and companies, to bring new business opportunities to Girbau and innovate in the laundry sector.

The first antimicrobial textile solution adapted for the laundry sector

NPJ03 is among the first textile technologies in the world to be proven effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

The solution protects uniforms, clothing, sheets, or other types of textile garments against contamination by germs and microbes, and achieves a long-lasting and effective effect that is maintained over several washes.

Thanks to the alliance with HeiQ, Girbau will be able to offer its clients a pioneering service with the antiviral and antimicrobial textile technology of HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, applicable in industrial laundry services, healthcare, hospitality, and food manufacturing sectors, where hygiene and safety are paramount.

In the healthcare sector, the application of this technology will protect medical fabrics (face masks, medical gowns, etc.) against SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 and other germs and microbes, favoring the reuse of PPE, clothing. protection and other sanitary equipment, until now for single use.

In addition to the healthcare sector, the solution tested by Girbau will also have an impact on the protection of personal garments, bedding, towels, and other textiles of self-service laundry customers who can apply Viroblock in these establishments. This modality opens the door for all of us to protect our clothes against all types of viruses and bacteria.

The application of this solution in industrial laundry is a fundamental step towards sustainability and the circular economy as well as human wellness and health, Girbau Lab’s strategic axes.

Girbau thus becomes the pioneer company in the laundry sector in offering a new solution that guarantees antiviral treatment during the laundering process, adding extra protection to garments and extending their useful life.