The Post-Pandemic Fit Out

The PostPandemic Fit Out

Marine refurbishment and fit-out firm, MJM, is responding to the needs of the cruise industry in a post-COVID landscape and partnering with NI air sterilisation firm Ilimex is part of that process. Here Darren Smith of MJM and Gerry Corrigan of Ilimex discuss making cruising a safer bet for everyone.

The cruise industry generates over $150bn (£108bn) in worldwide economic activity and supports nearly two million jobs directly and indirectly.

And according to predictions by Cruise Lines International Association, from mid-March 2020 – when the suspension of cruise operations began – through to the end of September, the worldwide impact would be a loss of $50bn (£36bn) in economic activity and the loss of some 334,000 jobs.

While cruising is close to resumption, Newry-based MJM and Illimex, the manufacturers of a new piece of technology proven to uniquely kill viruses and bacteria as well as improving air quality in the environment in which it is installed, could be instrumental in speeding up the process of reopening the sector.

Darren Smith, project sales and surveying manager at MJM said: “One of the biggest trends in the cruise industry right now is looking at medical facilities, better facilities, to cope with medical issues and cleaning

Darren Smith of MJM.

regimes using new technology like exactly what Ilimex is bringing to the market.”

Using a combination of sterilisation technologies to continuously eliminate 99.9999% of airborne pathogens, including coronavirus, on the first pass through the unit, the Illimex UV-C Air Steriliser device also removes dangerous pollutants from its immediate environment including VOCs, formaldehydes, benzene, nitrogen dioxide, mould spores, smoke and particulate matter and much more.

It does this by employing wide band extra long-life UV sources including high efficiency LEDs to reduce operating costs, titanium dioxide photocatalytic filtration, silver-ion doped HEPA 13 filtering to PM1 (antibacterial filter) and activated carbon.

Available in various sizes to suit the hospitality industry, the device is a proven solution to the pandemic for many providers thanks to the efforts of a team of people including Gerry Corrigan, the founder of Ilimex, Ulster University and Invest NI, among others.

Gerry describes the Ilimex process as taking in pathogens from the air and putting them into a “kill chamber”, effectively sterilising and purifying the air in the surrounding space.

“The process has gone from a baby to a teenager and it’s now at the adult phase,” he begins.

“This technology has been developed and tested during COVID-19 and it is quite unique because we knew what we were dealing with.”

The technology has already had a soft launch, having been tested in the Salthouse Hotel in Ballycastle. It has also undergone numerous tests and is currently on trial on a number of marine applications. And after that three-week trial, Ulster University will report the results back to Ilimex who will then file that report with MJM and, hopefully, kick start an installation process with the fit-out firm’s client base.

“It’s very important we have independent academics working on this at Ulster University. That sets the parameters,” Gerry continues.

There are six products developed by Ilimex which come in various sizes; from the Ilimex 400 to a smaller piece of technology labelled the Ilimex 50 which is suitable for positioning over tables in cafes and other hospitality environments.

“When I look at a ship, I see multiple products being used. And to make sure the right solution

“At the beginning, it was horrendous for the industry. Gradually over the year things have gotten better and we’ve delivered projects locally and internationally. Under COVID protocols, adapted health and safety policies, we’ve also had time to upskill employees and invest in our internal systems.”

Gerry Corrigan of Ilimex.

is there, all areas of the ship will be covered including cabin areas, crew areas and more. We can totally fulfil the quantity required tailored to the size of the vessel,” Gerry explains.

“We believe that these products can help employers and encourage staff to come back to work, helping sustain business.”

Darren says once the trial period is over and the results are in, the device can go out to the mass market, but MJM is already in “high level conversations”.

“The devices won’t affect the integrity of interiors,” he says as they employ a “plug and play” setup.

“We can look at using different units in different spaces. Our clients are asking us questions over this COVID period and we’re telling them that we’re looking at technologies and this one is really exciting and once we have the data, we can put it out there,” Darren adds.

MJM’s workload was severely impacted when the pandemic began, but activity levels are rising for the company, which has benefitted from growing confidence.

Darren continues: “At the beginning, it was horrendous for the industry. Gradually over the year things have gotten better and we’ve delivered projects locally and internationally. Under COVID protocols, adapted health and safety policies, we’ve also had time to upskill employees and invest in our internal systems.”

He is hopeful that cruises will resume, albeit on a more local scale around June time. “I feel for the next six months it will be very localised and maybe by the end of the year, next year, we might see something different.

“We recently looked at a ship that was going back into service and what we’re seeing is that cruise brands are seeking contractors but it’s going to take a while. It won’t be a flick of a key. They have to get the crew back, facilities up and running before they’re ready.”

It is Ilimex’s partnership with MJM that will get the technology promoted and the team is ready to launch globally.

“I think it’s important to mention that Invest NI and Ulster University, which opened its labs for us, have been fantastic and we wouldn’t have gotten to MJM without this cooperation. It’s a great story for us and Northern Ireland that we have this innovation coming out of here,” says Gerry.

“We have fabulous innovation in Northern Ireland and we’re very lucky that we have a treasure trove of factories that can manufacture for us at a fast rate. We’re also looking at Malaysia and Australia for production and we have the capacity and we’re ready for scale when demand comes,” he concludes.