For the past two years the Swiss American Business Council in Chicago has presented the SABC Swiss Innovation Award to small and medium sized business for demonstrated innovation in their respective industry. Due to the unusual circumstances the year 2020 has presented, we have decided to shift gears and highlight Swiss innovations to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. As the World Economic Forum recognized, Switzerland is a leader in innovation! During this pandemic, with typical Swiss flexibility, ingenuity, courage and drive, Swiss companies have taken on the challenge of battling COVID-19 around the world and in the US. It is our great pleasure to highlight some of these great Swiss innovations in combating COVID-19. We recognize Swiss-affiliated manufacturers and service providers in the US Midwest that have made special efforts to help fight the pandemic with products or services that meet an unmet need and provide direct benefits to society, including the US Midwest.
BBC Bircher for their Smart Access Product.
Telsonic Ultrasonics for their copper-infused fabric masks.
Leister for their infrared sources for ventilators.
Together with our promotional partners, we cordially congratulate this year's innovators and thank them for their innovative spirit to tackle this pandemic.
Hygienic access reduces the risk of infection from door handles. The spread of COVID-19 poses enormous challenges for all of us and influences the coexistence of people all over the world. A prudent approach to hygiene is the order of the day. Personal consideration and prudence are required of each individual in order to reduce the rapidly increasing infection rate.
Every contact is an exchange. We do not only pick up germs from people and objects, but we also leave them behind ourselves. On door handles, door knobs or light switches, viruses and bacteria are applied through direct contact with the surface and thus spread further.
CleanSwitch inhibits the spread of COVID-19.
As the fight against COVID-19 intensifies around the world the use of face masks has become mandatory within many everyday environments. Although the wide range of standard mask types commonly used today do provide protection for both the wearer and those in the immediate vicinity, a new report, published in the Lancet journal, found the coronavirus is capable of surviving on the outside of a face mask for 7 days.
It has also become clear that the use of fabrics infused with copper ions are scientifically proven to be antimicrobial, which means anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Copper has long-established anti-microbial properties that including killing the COVID-19 virus within a matter of hours.
Axetris AG is a company of the Leister Group with US operations based in Itasca, Illinois. Axetris specializes in microtechnology and manufactures infrared sources, among other things, in its own clean room. Infrared sources are part of respirators used for coronavirus patients in hospitals.
Increasing demand for Axetris infrared sources. Ventilators and respiratory gas monitoring have become scarce due to the coronavirus pandemic, causing the demand for infrared sources to increase since February 2020. Infrared Sources are the size of a finger-tip and they're used in the optical gas sensor to monitor patients breathing. The sensor is used to monitor the condition of the lungs resp. blood circulation by measuring the CO2 concentration with high resolution for each breath.
Axetris is currently producing infrared sources under lots of pressure and has taken various measures to significantly increase output. For example, employees from other areas of the Leister Group are working as support in Axetris' production.
Learn more: Distance Step
Learn more: Ventilator Components
Learn more: Kuehne+Nagel invests in global vaccine distribution network
Learn more: CleanMobility Solutions
Learn more: Pro Mask
Learn more: ABB robots accelerate COVID-19 testing
Learn more: Distance-warning technology
As part of the SABC Innovation Initiative, the SABC announces the winner and finalists of the 2019 SABC Innovation Award. On Dec. 4th, 2019, the award was presented for the second time. The award is in recognition of a new product, service or process that created a breakthrough and a meaningful impact in the market or society, has strengthened the Swiss American business relationship and has been launched within the last 3 years. This year's winner is Rollomatic, Inc, for its NEXTAGE HUMANOID, COLLABORATIVE INDUSTRIAL ROBOT.
The SABC awarded the first Innovation Award to BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc. at our annual Christmas Dinner in December 2018. For its EWE finish boring heads. BIG KAISER’s next step in the digital tooling evolution is EWE finish boring heads, which not only have a digital display to show incremental movement of the cutting edge, but also use Bluetooth® Technology to pair with the BIG KAISER App (available in both iOS and Android versions).