5 minute read
Breath of Fresh Air
Charlene pictured with the Ozo Duo - Air purification system.
Charlene Turkington, CEO of Ozo Sanitized, is changing how business, educational, healthcare and other settings sanitise now and beyond the pandemic from her new headquarters in Moira. Here she talks to Emma Deighan about clearing the air with NI’s business world.
Aformer property renovation expert, Charlene Turkington returned to Northern Ireland from West Yorkshire in early 2020 just as COVID-19 would make its mark on how we live, work and play.
It was an event that she says “presented an opportunity to look at an alternative business idea” and so, plans that stemmed back to 2017 to move back home full-time, became a reality and the seeds of that new business grew to become Ozo Sanitized.
“A chance conversation with our now Technical Director Andrew Barrington with whom I had collaborated on property previously got me thinking about Ozo Sanitized,” Charlene begins.
“Andrew has worked with Ozone (nature’s most powerful sanitiser that has been utilised successfully in healthcare) for several years and together over the course of a few weeks we formed the idea for the business and products we provide today. Subsequent market research over many weeks confirmed our thoughts and the business was born.”
With its main office based outside Moira, and a second base in Manchester to strengthen its UK-wide reach, there are five people in the team, with plans to add further staff in the second quarter of 2021.
The bulk of Ozo’s offering is air and surface sanitisers for use when spaces are unoccupied. This includes Ozo Sanitiser and Ozo Compact, which are classified as Ozone Generators while its Ozo Duo and Ozo Pure products come under the category of Virus Neutralisers.
“Our ozone generators are air and surface
sanitisers for use when spaces are unoccupied; our virus neutralisers are designed for operation in an occupied space and predominantly treat the air we breathe,” explains Charlene, who says the popularity of these kinds of products has soared over the last decade.
“So much so there are currently eight million hotel bedrooms sanitised with Ozone on an annual basis,” she informs.
Ozone is a powerful disinfectant and has recently been proven to inactivate the SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19) virus in a study conducted by the Nara Medical University.
In addition to infection control Ozone can neutralise odour at source, rather than mask a smell like many other products do.
“Ozone is a highly effective air and surface disinfectant; this is important as we now understand COVID-19 to be airborne as well as having the ability to survive on surfaces for long periods of time. A recent study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic has proven the virus can live on glass for up to five days, wood up to four days and stainless steel for up to three days. Disinfection of these surfaces is critical to controlling the spread,” adds Charlene.
Ozo’s USP is its ability to “penetrate all areas within a room, including crevices, fixtures, fabrics, and the under surface of furniture much more effectively than liquid sprays or aerosols”, while the company’s virus neutralisers “harness the unique power of UV-C utilised at sufficiently short wavelengths to disable micro organisms”.
The use of UV-C to fight viruses, she says, dates back more than a century “to 1903 when Niels Finsen was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine using UV against lupus vulgaris”.
“UV is a perfectly safe but extremely powerful disinfectant which attacks cell DNA, killing bacteria and rendering viruses unable to function or reproduce. UV is now widely used throughout the UK and Ireland to disinfect hospitals and public spaces.”
But there’s a huge variation in quality, Charlene is quick to point out. “Many utilize UV-A or UV-B which are inadequate for killing viruses and lamp quality varies hugely – lower quality lamps remove as little as 20% of germs,” she reveals.
“Our virus neutralisers also feature air purification technology, namely HEPA 13, G4 and Carbon filtration. HEPA filters were first invented and developed during World War II as part of atomic bomb research for containment of radio-active aerosols and our HEPA filters meet the EU standard EN 1822:2019 which ensures the filter used achieves minimum filtration of 99.95%.”
They’re impressive statistics that have seen Ozo sell extremely well throughout the UK and Ireland, and here in its native home.
The clientele focus is now care, educational, child care, hospitality and office settings and while the pandemic prompted Charlene to swap interiors for sanitisation, she anticipates Ozo’s offering to be a requisite in the workplace well beyond 2021.
“The Ozo Duo was launched towards the end of 2020 and was in a direct response to the COVID pandemic but we understand that COVID-19 will be with us forever. The virus will continue to mutate and find ways to evade vaccines and it will require regular reimmunisation. Scientists predict mask wearing and some elements of social distancing to be with us for anything between three and 10 years and, almost certainly, we will have annual flare ups of the disease.
“We expect attitudes to cleanliness in public places and workplaces to change forever and employers and service providers will have a duty to provide safe places, but our machines offer so much more to a business than just peace of mind. They offer the opportunity to generate a return on investment with reduced staff sickness,” says Charlene.
“And if you look at Long COVID, it has been presented by Scientists as a huge concern, with as many as 10% of COVID sufferers left with the sometimes debilitating condition. This makes a virus that has a low risk of fatality to most of the working population a clear and present danger.”
With longevity in mind, the company has further plans to extend its lines, expand its team and develop its client base and areas it serves.
“We have a few other products in the pipeline, one of which is an indoor air quality monitoring system delivering live data on CO2 , temperature, humidity, airborne chemicals, radon, light, occupancy, virus risk, mould risk and pressure,” Charlene reveals.
“Air quality has never been more important and our technology allows you to take control of the air in your premises to provide a safe, productive environment and optimise energy usage.”
Two new team members due to come onboard will help with future plans, including the introduction of “innovative products and a contact centre in Belfast”.
“Job creation is a big driver for us and all our office-based staff will be employed within Northern Ireland,” says Charlene.
Andrew Barrington (technical director); Charlene Turkington (chief executive) and Gareth Williamson (sales director).
