ICP brings HeiQ’s Viroblock technology to print industry

The two companies have signed a five-year agreement that grants ICP Industrial, a division of Innovative Chemical Products (ICP), exclusive rights to implement the Viroblock technology in thin-film coatings for printing and coating processes globally.  

An integral part of the agreement was to enter and intensify a collaborative R&D partnership between the two companies. ICP will offer the HeiQ Viroblock technology with brand trademark licensing to all ICP Industrial’s worldwide downstream customers, which manufacture packaging products for some of the world’s largest consumer brands. This will enable brand owners to market products in antimicrobial packaging. In addition to packaging sectors, ICP customers can utilize the HeiQ Viroblock Technology in other high-touch printed and coated surfaces, including laminate films.

According to ICPO, recent studies show that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could persist on inanimate surfaces such as metals, glass, or plastic for up to several days. It was the conceptive goal to make surfaces antiviral and antimicrobial that HeiQ Viroblock was first invented. Originally conceived as a technology for textiles, it has proven its versatility and has been already adopted for paints and, most recently, printed paper and plastic-coated products. 

‘HeiQ Viroblock is among the first technologies in the world to be proven effective against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing Covid-19) and has been applied by more than 150 brands worldwide to over 1 billion face masks and countless other materials,’ said ICP in a statement. ‘HeiQ Viroblock combines two mechanisms of attack resulting in an over 99.99 percent destruction of various kinds of viruses and bacteria in minutes, according to tests performed to ISO 18184 and ISO 20743 standards in Europe on textiles. HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 is made with 100 percent cosmetic-grade materials.’

The two companies are currently optimizing the product development and testing while pursuing to obtain approval from the EPA to make antiviral claims for the intended applications in the USA.

ICP Industrial’s division president Paul Grzebielucha said: ‘We are excited to offer this new innovative technology to the print world. We have global reach under our brands of Nicoat, MinusNine, and Hitech Coatings to provide this protection on billions of printed surfaces per year. This HeiQ Viroblock game-changing technology for our industry and society has proven to be a superior solution that is currently available in the marketplace. HeiQ products have proven efficacy in minutes rather than hours, with an effective rate of 99.99 percent. ICP Industrial has always provided innovative solutions to the graphic arts and packaging segments while maintaining the highest level of customer and technical service in the industry. ICP Industrial is very excited about the partnership with HeiQ bringing this technology to market, providing a safer touch environment to the world.’ 

HeiQ co-founder and CEO Carlo Centonze added: ‘It is with great pleasure that we team up with ICP Industrial, a global leader serving the print and packaging industry with advanced coating systems. As we have all learned in this global pandemic, surfaces matter and viruses can remain infectious for several days on paper, plastics, and cardboard. HeiQ and ICP Industrial bring together their unique knowledge to offer consumers Viroblocked packaging and commercial print solutions.’