October 22, 2007—Agion Technologies, a leading provider of natural silver-based antimicrobial solutions, has announced a worldwide, multi-year exclusive partnership agreement with PPG Industries to develop, manufacture, and jointly market PPG’s coatings for use on laptop computers. PPG supplies coatings solutions to markets such as construction, industrial, and transportation.
Consumer awareness and concern about bacteria, mold, and mildew exposure is growing, in particular for laptop computers used by office workers, students, and families, says Agion. Many computer surfaces are susceptible to harboring microbes, and it is difficult to keep these surfaces sufficiently clean. PPG’s coatings, featuring Agion’s antimicrobial protection, have been developed to work continuously to inhibit the growth of microbes using “nature’s antimicrobial” – naturally-safe silver ion technology.
“We believe partnering with Agion to develop coatings solutions will be strategically important to our company and our customers,” said William Wulfsohn, PPG senior vice president of coatings. “We can offer the benefit of Agion antimicrobial protection for laptop surfaces and provide customers with a differentiable feature in a competitive market, while reinforcing PPG’s proactive position on environmental impact.”
Agion’s antimicrobial technology has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Food Safety Association (EFSA) and it is listed as an indirect food contact substance approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company’s antimicrobial technology has been incorporated into products including cell phones, shoes, keyboards, pens, water filters, air conditioning and heating units, medical catheters, ice machines, and faucet handles. For more on the company, see its Web site.
PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass.
