Richmond-based Cupron has ramped up the use of its copper-infused technology as Covid-19 shows no signs of slowing.
Cupron is a commercial company that is focused on putting certain types of copper compounds into a variety of materials to allow the material to benefit from being highly anti-microbial, odor-preventing and supportive of the skin.
“Many people see that the benefits on the medical side have application in commercial products and industrial environments as well,” CEO Chris Andrews told Inno. “We had specifically focused on healthcare for several years because we viewed that as the best use of the technology, but with Covid-19 we’re starting to see a much broader interest in the understanding of the role of environmental surfaces in transmitting pathogens.”
The company was originally started in Israel, where the copper-based technology that serves a novel function in medical products was first explored and developed. In 2011, a group of American investors, most of whom were in Virginia, purchased the company and moved its headquarters from Tel Aviv to Richmond.
Today, the company has evolved to include 14 team members who use the technology to create products in partnership with other companies. Cupron also licenses the technology out for other companies to use themselves. Cupron’s flagship product was a line of self-sanitizing linens for use in hospitals, such as in bed sheets, pillowcases, towels or gowns and scrubs.
When Covid-19 hit, however, consumers began educating themselves about the transmission of pathogens, and the team at Cupron saw an increased interest from other, non-medical entities looking for ways to incorporate the technology in industries like airframe manufacturing, mass transit, automobile production and consumer products and packaging.
“Anything that could be a source of transmitting a pathogen is now in play,” Andrews said.
While non-medical companies have begun expressing interest in integrating Cupron’s tech into their products, Cupron has also released their first publicly available consumer product: a face mask made with the copper-based technology.
“One of my most satisfying six or seven weeks of this business’ career was watching the team here take an idea of this face mask, driven by our customers, and get them made and going on customers,” Andrews said.
Andrews said he plans to continue focusing on medical textiles, especially now that customer are able to purchase the masks online. They're available in bulk on Cupron's website or individually on Amazon.
"The market has spoken that these other, non-medical applications that we're talking to our partners about will be a larger part of our business going forward as well," he said.