Byotrol launches anti-fungal lamp post coating and secures major contract with Bournemouth Council

Citation

(2006), "Byotrol launches anti-fungal lamp post coating and secures major contract with Bournemouth Council", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 35 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2006.12935bad.006

Byotrol launches anti-fungal lamp post coating and secures major contract with Bournemouth Council

Byotrol launches anti-fungal lamp post coating and secures major contract with Bournemouth Council

Keywords: Coatings technology, Microbiology

Anti-microbial technology company, Byotrol plc has launched an anti- microbial coating product designed to prevent the build up of damaging micro-organisms including bacteria, mould and algae on lamp posts and street furniture following extensive trials with Bournemouth Borough Council. The launch represents the company's first product development in the industrial sector since it raised £3million through a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) earlier this summer and it follows a 24 month trial by its distribution partner Abatement Byotrol Ltd in conjunction with the Council and the UK's largest street lighting contractor, Southern Electric Contracting (SEC). Build up of microbes on lamp posts is a major issue for councils and transport departments, with excessive build up having the potential to compromise both structural and electrical safety. The company estimates, there are more than 15million street lamps across the UK and Byotrol believes the market could be worth more than £1 million The contract will see Bournemouth Borough Council deploy a product containing the company's Byotrol technology on more than 70,000 lamp posts that come under the Council's maintenance control. Byotrol's patented technology offers a number of advantages over current solutions to the microbe problem because it is effective against a broad spectrum of micro-organisms, continues to work for many months after application and has very low levels of toxicity to humans in comparison to the alternatives currently available on the market place. This has been coupled with a high performance custom developed coating that is applied in a single application (compared with two or three currently required) offering labour savings and visual benefits. Byotrol products work on two levels by eradicating micro- organisms on the application through biocidal action and providing continuing protection by disrupting the biofilm formation process necessary for micro-organism reproduction. This means that the street furniture looks better and is safer for the public. This product was developed following extensive work in the paint and coatings additives market where Byotrol already has a range of products deployed in a number of demanding environments. The latest product is being made available in a range of colours and in comes in a 5l tin priced at £36.50, with discounts available on bulk orders. According to Byotrol Deputy Chairman Stephen Falder: “algae and mould build up on lamp posts is a very real problem for UK councils and if un-checked it can compromise the performance and safety of street lamps. The application of our technology to this problem demonstrates the versatility of our products which are already being used in a wide range of sectors from health care to food processing”. “We believe there is an interesting commercial opportunity in this particular niche market”, Stephen Falder added. Barrie Clark of Bournemouth Borough Council commented that: “We have undertaken a detailed series of trials with the team from Byotrol and they have demonstrated that Byotrol's technology represents a real breakthrough in helping us address a little known but very real problem. Bournemouth Borough Council take safety issues extremely seriously, and we also look for savings in labour and maintenance costs this product appears to help in both these areas”.

Byotrol: how it works

The breakthrough that makes Byotrol unique is that it uses a combination of the laws of physics and chemistry to halt the march of bacteria. Byotrol has a three-stage effect on micro-organisms (bugs), and it uses changes in surface tension as the basis of its attack on bacteria. Surface tension has a huge effect on small things and a small effect on big things. The effects of Byotrol on the bugs are deadly, but the process only has a measurable effect on the tiniest of living organisms and is, therefore, harmless to humans and animals. Byotrol interferes with the conditioning of the surface, such as a wall or table, before the micro-organism lands, making it more difficult for the micro-organism to settle on the surface and stay there and reproduce. When the micro-organism secretes material in an attempt to form a biofilm (i.e. what is needed for it to stick to the surface), the secretion compounds – proteins, polysaccharides or oily type materials – are all disrupted by the pervading surface tension regime, making it much more difficult or impossible for the bug to form a firm attachment to the surface. Finally, the bug, in its weakened state, succumbs to the gentlest of biocidal action provided by the associated biocides contained within Byotrol. These are not heavy duty compounds, but when acting on such a tiny life form as a micro-organism, they cause the bug's membrane to burst before it has a chance to reproduce.