On its website, US Hygienics — headquartered in Naples — uses the movie “Contagion” to promote its newly acquired cleaner.
The company, just four months old, is making an aggressive push into the international marketplace with two products.
Its non-toxic disinfectant, called Sanosil, promises to kill “99.99 percent of viruses, bacteria and molds.” With that kind of success rate, company executives believe it could help fight a deadly, fast-spreading virus like the one shown in the recently released thriller flick directed by Steven Soderbergh.
The company’s other product, a natural insecticide, fights another kind of epidemic: bedbugs. It’s called Bed Bug Fix. It quickly kills many bugs, including bedbugs and dust mites.
As for Sanosil, it can be sprayed on surfaces or used with a fogger to clean the air and every surface in a room, from ceiling to floor, in 10 minutes, making it cost-effective for commercial users.
“It’s a very unique, high-level disinfectant,” explained Irv Kraut, an industrial hygienist and a senior technical director for US Hygienics, which is changing its name from US Hygiene.
Three to five years from now, J.A. “Duke” Warriner, the CEO of US Hygienics, expects to have annual sales of $100 million. As sales grow, so will the number of employees.
“It’s going to create a lot of cash flow for a lot of people,” Warriner said. “And cash flow is what this country needs.”
His company will add more products to its lineup, but only ones that would be considered “game-changers,” like the ones it’s marketing now, Warriner said.
“We’re not going to start selling Dawn, Comet or Mr. Clean,” he said.
The business isn’t a chemical company. It’s looking to acquire more products, but first the products must undergo rigorous research to determine what they’re made of and if they do what they promise, Kraut said.
“If we see a product we like, we’re not afraid to send it to an outside lab,” he said. “We need to believe in it completely.”
US Hygienics is the outgrowth of a restoration business, FCR LLC, that’s also headquartered in Naples and headed up by Warriner, who has a background in property management. The parent company is Westbury FCR Inc. FCR stands for First Call Restoration.
Fast facts
US Hygienics is the outgrowth of a restoration business, FCR LLC, that’s also headquartered in Naples and headed up by J.A. “Duke” Warriner, who has a background in property management. The parent company is Westbury FCR Inc. FCR stands for First Call Restoration.
In a little over a year, the two companies and their affiliates have created 25 jobs.
The restoration business, which opened its doors in July 2010, also has grown with the acquisition of a similar but larger company in Orlando.
FCR responds to floods and handles other disaster clean-up including mold removal, which is an increasing problem with vacant bank-owned homes and homes built with tainted Chinese drywall.
Like US Hygienics, the restoration company is an international business, recently sending one of its more advanced response teams to Puerto Rico to help with clean-up after Hurricane Irene slammed the island last month.
“We have catastrophic teams that we can send anywhere,” Warriner said.
With the restoration business, it became evident that more efficient, more environmentally friendly products were needed to tackle the tougher jobs, especially involving mold, Warriner said.
Working as a consultant to the restoration business, Kraut brought Sanosil to the company as a new disinfectant tool. That’s how US Hygienics was born.
Fast facts
The disinfectant – a combination of hydrogen peroxide, silver and water – only recently was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in this country. Created in Switzerland, it has been used in Europe for more than 25 years.
The disinfectant – a combination of hydrogen peroxide, silver and water – only recently was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in this country. Created in Switzerland, it has been used in Europe for more than 25 years. It’s especially ideal for killing bacteria, viruses and mold in schools, hospitals and prisons and on cruise ships, Kraut said.
US Hygienics has distribution rights for Sanosil in North America, Canada and several Caribbean nations.
In the past four months, the company has set up distribution centers for its two products in Nevada, California, New York, Massachusetts and Florida, as well as in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Sanosil is manufactured in Texas, while Bed Bug Fix is made in Miami.
A spin-off of US Hygienics has been created in Bermuda, called Global Hygienics, which will handle offshore sales.
In Latin America, a sister restoration company is opening in Panama, which will use and distribute Sanosil over there.
Panama is booming with new construction, so it’s an ideal market to expand into. The restoration company there will have 10 to 15 employees, Warriner said.
If a hotel in Panama has a pipe burst, they have no one to call for help, so “that’s why we are going down there,” Warriner said.
Over the next few months, US Hygienics has six trade shows lined up all over the U.S. to show off its two products. A marketing campaign launched in August will include advertisements in 19 trade magazines.
“We’ve been very aggressive in trying to create market awareness and get some market saturation,” Warriner said. “We’re doing everything we can do to get the word out. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
Fast facts
Westgate Resorts, the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world, has used Bed Bug Fix to get rid of its infestations. Using the disinfectant, the company no longer has to take rooms out of service for 12 days.
Westgate Resorts, the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world, has used Bed Bug Fix to get rid of its infestations. Using the disinfectant, the company no longer has to take rooms out of service for 12 days.
“By using Bed Bug Fix, we are now turning rooms back for service within five days of the initial treatment with not one reoccurrence,” said Brian Siegel, vice president for risk management for Westgate Resorts, in a statement.
Because it’s a natural insecticide, Bed Bug Fix didn’t require approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for use in the U.S.
In the future, US Hygienics may look to sell Bed Bug Fix at retail stores or even on QVC or through Amazon.com to put it “in the hands of soccer moms” across the country, Warriner said. But for now the focus is on commercial users.
Cori Higgins, co-owner of Industrial Organics International in Naples, opened her business two months ago to distribute Sanosil and Bed Bug Fix, from Tampa to Miami. She said the products hit home with her because they are natural and safe. She’s also allergic to mold, which is killed by Sanosil.
She said Bed Bug Fix is so safe that you could spray it on your pillow and then put your head on it with no worries. It smells like potpourri.
“It goes in and actually kills the nervous system of the bedbug,” Higgins said. “So it’s gone and it never comes back.”
With Sanosil, she said, you can spray and walk away and not worry about wiping or breathing in harmful chemicals.
She learned about US Hygienics from Kraut, who she describes as the “Michael Jordan of chemists.”
“The fact that we have him on board is huge,” she said.
Higgins, who has a background in sales and marketing, said she is reaching out to hospitals, schools, hotels and other businesses in her market area to get the word out about US Hygienics’ products.
Her husband, Barry, is a partner in Industrial Organics International and he’s also a general manager at Bayfront Inn on Fifth Avenue South in Naples. He plans to use the products at his hotel for cleanliness and prevention.
Cori Higgins is amazed at how far US Hygienics has come in a few months.
“They have been everywhere,” she said of the company’s executives. “It’s like the rolling snowball, it just keeps going, which is a great problem to have.”
Kraut said the company is “taxiing down the runway,” getting ready to take off.
“Watch us grow,” Warriner said.
