ICP Industrial Engages into Exclusivity Agreement with HeiQ Viroblock for Applications in the Graphic Arts Market
ITASCA, Ill. & ZURICH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ICP Industrial Inc, a division of Innovative Chemical Products (ICP) and HeiQ have signed an agreement granting ICP Industrial worldwide exclusivity for the HeiQ Viroblock Technology. Water based and energy cure coating applications will include but not limited to commercial printing, film laminates, packaging including food, beverage, flexible and pharmaceuticals. ICP Industrial will bring HeiQ Viroblock technology, the world’s leading antiviral/antibacterial technology to the graphic arts market further expanding ICP’s innovative portfolio of products.
ICP Industrial and HeiQ have signed a 5 year worldwide agreement that grants ICP Industrial exclusive rights to implement the HeiQ Viroblock technology in thin film coatings for printing and coating processes. An integral part of the agreement was to enter and intensify a collaborative R&D partnership between the two companies. ICP will offer the HeiQ Viroblock technology with brand trademark licensing to all ICP Industrial’s world-wide downstream customers which manufacture packaging products for some of the world’s largest consumer brands. This will enable brand owners to market products in antimicrobial packaging. In addition to packaging sectors, ICP customers can utilize the HeiQ Viroblock Technology in other high touch printed and coated surfaces including laminate films.
Recent studies show that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could persist on inanimate surfaces such as metals, glass or plastic for up to several days. It was the conceptive goal to make surfaces antiviral/antimicrobial that HeiQ Viroblock was first invented. Originally conceived as an antiviral/antimicrobial technology for textiles, this technology has proven its innovative versatility as it has already been adopted for paints and most recently for printed paper and plastic-coated products. HeiQ Viroblock is among the first technologies in the world to be proven effective against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) and has been applied by more than 150 brands worldwide to over 1 billion face masks and countless other materials. HeiQ Viroblock combines two mechanisms of attack resulting in an over 99.99% destruction of various kinds of viruses and bacteria in minutes, according to tests performed to ISO 18184 and ISO 20743 standards in Europe on textiles. HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 is made with 100% cosmetic-grade materials.
The two companies are currently optimizing the product development and testing, while pursuing to obtain approval from the EPA to make antiviral claims for the intended applications in the USA.
Setting new milestones in the evolution of this technology, the incorporation of HeiQ Viroblock in ICP Industrial’s coatings confirms its leading role for the pursuit of safeguarding mainstream high touch materials one encounters in everyday life. The new partnership will on the one hand, strengthen the ICP Industrial portfolio of products while giving consumers the trust and confidence level to live ‘normal’ lives secure in the knowledge that printed and coated surfaces touched daily are less likely to be hosting surfaces for viruses and bacteria.
ICP Industrial’s Division President Paul Grzebielucha said: “We are excited to offer this new innovative technology to the print world. We have global reach under our brands of Nicoat, MinusNine and Hitech Coatings to provide this protection on billions of printed surfaces per year. This HeiQ Viroblock game changing technology for our industry and society has proven to be a superior solution that is currently available in the marketplace. HeiQ products have proven efficacy in minutes rather than hours with an effective rate of 99.99%. ICP Industrial has always provided innovative solutions to the graphic arts and packaging segments while maintaining the highest level of customer and technical service in the industry. ICP Industrial is very excited about the partnership with HeiQ bringing this technology to market providing a safer touch environment to the world.”
HeiQ Co-founder and CEO, Carlo Centonze said: “It is with great pleasure that we team up with ICP Industrial, a global leader serving the print and packaging industry with advanced coating systems. As we have all learned in this global pandemic surfaces matter and viruses can remain infectious for several days on paper, plastics & cardboard. HeiQ and ICP Industrial bring together their unique knowledge to offer consumers Viroblocked packaging and commercial print solutions.”
About ICP
ICP Industrial Inc, a division of Innovative Chemical Products (“ICP Group”) is a global leader in the development, application & technical support of specialty coatings for the graphic arts industry. ICP Industrial’s platform led by trusted brands Nicoat®, MinusNine and Hitech Coatings, deliver innovative solutions to the packaging, labeling and graphic arts industries. The ICP R&D team, Technical Service and Technical Sales Managers support customers to leverage the high-performance portfolio of aqueous, UV/LED/EB, silicone and specialty coatings and adhesive technologies with operations headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. ICP Industrial manufacture these coatings in multiple facilities around the world. For more information, visit www.icpindustrial.com
The ICP Group specializes in manufacturing and distributing professional products for building envelopes, flooring, sport surfaces, packaging, and specialty print. Founded in 2015 and supported by a lean corporate team, ICP Group has scaled rapidly through organic and acquisition growth into one of the largest coatings, adhesives, and sealants companies in North America. ICP Group is privately held and manufactures products under several recognized specialty groups. For more information, www.icpgroup.com
About HeiQ
Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market (LSE:HEIQ), HeiQ is a leader in textile innovation creating some of the most effective, durable and high-performance textile technologies on the market today. HeiQ’s mission is to improve the lives of billions of people through pioneering textiles and materials innovation. Combining three areas of expertise – scientific research, specialty materials manufacturing and consumer ingredient branding – HeiQ is the ideal innovation partner to create differentiating and sustainable textile products and capture the added value at the point of sale. With a total capacity of 35’000 tons per year HeiQ manufactures in the USA, Switzerland and Australia supplying its specialty chemical products in over 60 countries worldwide. For more information, www.heiq.com
Contacts
Bridget Hagan, bridget.hagan@akhia.com