As a parent, there are few things despised more than opening a child’s smelly sports equipment bag after it has been sitting around for a week. Walter Mann was a dad who had been there, and was tired of worrying about his family’s exposure to germs from handling dirty clothing and equipment.
Since Mann understood the risks his family faced from germs lurking on his son’s lacrosse gear and his daughter’s soccer and equestrian gear, he wanted to find a way to sanitize and disinfect in the crevices of the gear, and to eradicate the equipment’s residual odor caused by decomposing bacteria.
Mann learned that traditional methods of disinfecting and sanitizing don’t always eliminate viruses and bacteria as well as they should. He began researching alternatives to liquid chemical disinfectants, and discovered that an effective sanitizing and disinfecting solution was created by securely controlling ozone concentration and humidity in a contained environment for 35 minutes. At the time, little knowledge of a reliable system like this existed. Mann saw an opportunity to fill this product gap in the market place.
Mann got to work on the design and prototype for the ZONO in his garage. He enlisted the help of his family on weekends to put together the racks and carts he designed. From there, he continued to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the cabinet through microbiological independent laboratory testing, and developed a business plan to enter the marketplace with his unique product.
The mechanical engineer’s efforts have paid off. Since 2009, the ZONO has acquired many notable customers and is being utilized by the US Military, NASA, NFL Teams, colleges, museums, and a multitude of daycares and early learning centers. More than 1000 companies and organizations across the country have discovered the benefits of the ZONO.
When the ZONO is integrated into a business’s cleaning protocols, sanitizing and disinfecting with liquid chemicals can be reduced. Additionally, ozone can reach cervices in items such as sports gear, or sanitize and disinfect items not suitable for cleaning with water or liquids like stuffed animals and electronics.
