Plastic surfaces that kill 99 percent of COVID-19 are becoming a reality within the RV, bus and specialty vehicle industries.
Turkish company Polser Composite Materials Corp., along with its Elkhart, Indiana-based operation, Polser USA, make fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) components used within an RV’s exterior, sidewalls and ceilings.
The supplier’s FRP components include an active antimicrobial ingredient, Polser USA President Greg Glanders said, which is embedded in a product’s top coat. The patented technology was tested against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) seven years ago, Glanders said, a virus family now known to cause COVID-19. Past test results showed a strong antiviral effect, the company stated.
“We are happy to announce that [additional] testing just took place at a leading university,” Glanders said. “Our material can aggressively and effectively kill 99 percent of all coronavirus pathogens and microbes. We did not have the verification or lab data to say that until now.”
Polser’s technology works by emitting a positive charge and drawing microbes out from the air, Glanders said. Microscopic bacteria and viruses latch onto the material, which then kills the cells, he said, resembling a balloon rupturing on a nail bed.
Polser’s antimicrobial technology can be found within Winnebago Industries’ Specialty Vehicle components, Glanders said, a division that includes Winnebago’s Type A motorhomes.
“From a people-mover standpoint, you want to be able to create a hygienically clean air space environment,” Glanders said. “We are the only one in the world with [the ingredient] embedded in our FRP, and are elated to share this announcement that it also kills Covid. We are doing everything we can to fight against it and certainly, transportation is taking a multi-billion dollar hit.”
The active ingredient in Polser’s products is manufactured in Izmir, Turkey, and distributed through the company’s Elkhart facility to RV, bus, specialty vehicle and truck industries in the U.S. The company is working to partner with businesses such as plastic manufacturers that could use Polser’s material to make antimicrobial plastic parts, Glanders said.
“When you are holding onto a bus pole and release, that pole could have a coating on it that will kill those germs, bacteria and viruses,” he said regarding the material’s potential transportation industry effect.
Polser USA’s parent company is a global FRP and lightweight composite manufacturer, producing coiled and cut-to-length sheet products used in transportation, agriculture, building trade, truck trailer and other industries. The company got its start in the building trade industry throughout Europe and Asia, eventually establishing its Elkhart-based operation last February.
