A current reference project by the Hamburg-based company LOEWE BIOSECURITY – one of the first companies in the world to be awarded the RINA Biosafety Trust Certification – demonstrates how the potential for significantly increased hygiene safety in public areas can be leveraged. Together with its partners, the V8 Hotel Motorworld Region Stuttgart and the Dortmund-based ICA GROUP, LOEWE BIOSECURITY is relying on high-tech hygiene engineering. The latest addition to the Hamburg-based company’s portfolio is the HERO21, the first UV-C disinfection robot „Engineered in Germany“.
All three partners recognized the need for more effective hygiene concepts before the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was discovered and caused the current pandemic. Today’s LOEWE BIOSECURITY emerged from the „Disinfection on Board“ department of Bremen-based LOEWE MARINE GmbH & Co. KG, which has been established in the maritime sector for years. Like the ICA GROUP, which developed the HERO21 with its ICA HEALTH division, the LOEWE companies maintain close contacts with Asia. And the V8 Hotel, base for business travelers and tourists from all over the world for the automotive region of Stuttgart, is also closely networked with the Asian region. This is one of the reasons for the partners‘ technological edge and their decision to create a reference project with the V8 Hotel. In the V8 Hotel, LOEWE BIOSECURITY is establishing world-leading solutions for hygiene safety with a focus on the European market. The highest safety standards, holistic environmental compatibility and consistent compliance with European standards – these are the criteria by which LOEWE BIOSECURITY’s engineers, state-certified disinfectors and healthcare hygiene officers develop their disinfection strategies and select high-tech solutions. The latest example: the HERO21.
A robot that does not replace employees, but protects them
The HERO21 is a fully autonomous disinfection robot that uses UV-C radiation to disinfect surfaces and indoor air in rooms. The UV-C radiation penetrates the genetic material of bacteria, fungi and viruses and destroys their DNA or RNA. „In contrast to conventional chemical disinfectants, UV-C radiation, which we also use in our handheld devices and air purifiers, offers important advantages,“ explains Dipl.-Ing. Carsten Löhmer, CEO of LOEWE BIOSECURITY. „Chemical products carry the risk of resistance, they are not environmentally friendly, and since they are usually applied manually, errors cannot be ruled out. Last but not least, the personnel responsible for disinfection are at risk when working in contaminated areas. We circumvent all this by using the HERO21, which works autonomously, i.e., on its own.“ The robot, which according to analyses in several certified laboratories achieves a disinfection level of at least 99.99 percent with 360-degree coverage, can be sent into contaminated rooms via app. A multi-level safety system ensures that no people are put at risk by the use of UV-C radiation.
Taking responsibility means preserving freedoms
„We are seeing these days that Asia is coping with the pandemic much better than Europe,“ says Löhmer, adding, „However, we are aware as Europeans that some countries in Asia are not achieving this through high-tech alone. But one thing should also be clear: There is no freedom without responsibility. For us as hygiene experts, this responsibility means successfully applying scientifically sound knowledge and the best available technology. That freedom can be preserved in this way is something we demonstrate every day with our customers and exemplarily with our partners V8 Hotel and ICA Group in our current reference project.“
Markus Hofherr, director of the V8 Hotel, emphasizes the added value created by the partnership for the guests and employees of his hotel: „Our long-standing cooperation with LOEWE BIOSECURITY – documented by the LOEWE BIOSECURITY seal – gives us the maximum possible security for maintaining our services, also and especially during the waves of the current pandemic. With HERO21, we gain another strong protector of our guests and employees, all of which makes us look to the future with confidence.“
Stefan Walko, Managing Director and COO of the ICA Health division of the ICA Group, welcomes the expansion of the HERO21’s range of applications initiated by the partnership with LOEWE BIOSECURITY and V8 Hotel: „When developing the HERO21, whose success we owe to our many years of expertise as a technology company, we initially had our sights set on everyday hospital life, which we wanted to make safer in operating rooms, intensive care units and other highly sensitive areas with a pioneering disinfection technology. With LOEWE BIOSECURITY and V8 Hotel as partners, we can now open up the possibility for other sectors such as the tourism sector to benefit from the advantages of HERO21.“