Fighting the virus with novel weapons

EFFORTS to tackle the novel coronavirus outbreak are giving the cleaning and sanitation industry its day in the sun, with particular attention fixating on products that offer additional protection or fight disease in new ways.

The surge in demand for a self-disinfecting toxin-free coating called sdst has taken its local distributor from loss-making for five years to barely able to meet the flood of orders, all in a matter of months.

SUTL Environtech now is fielding inquiries from customers across industries and around the region for the US-manufactured product, which kills microbes upon contact and can withstand regular cleaning to last for three months after application.

Since February, sdst has been applied to frequently touched surfaces in Changi Airport and lift buttons in HDB blocks. Other organisations using it include Mapletree, DBS Bank, UOB and government institutions.

Before Covid-19 hit Singapore's shores, SUTL Environtech struggled to make money from what its founders Arthur Tay and Yeo Wee Ming have long felt is a superior and technologically advanced product. They told The Business Times that they have mixed feelings about how the pandemic has finally awakened customers to the need for more effective and innovative disinfecting solutions like sdst and sdpro, the service SUTL Environtech offers for large-scale applications of sdst.

"It's a blessing but also a sadness, in that we have known these products are so important," said Mr Tay, who is also chairman and CEO of the distributor's parent company SUTL Corporation.

He likened it to selling insurance, saying: "When you're not near death or accidents, you don't want to buy insurance. So people didn't want to purchase this product ... Then this happened, and we are running out of stock. It's all about timing."

A trained microbiologist, managing director Dr Yeo encountered the sdst product when he was introduced to the inventors during a teaching stint in the US, and was deeply impressed. Seeking to help launch it to the market, he found his business partner Mr Tay through their shared army alumni community, and the scientist and businessman founded SUTL Environtech together in 2014.

Amid growing awareness of the cost of ignoring seemingly minute threats like viruses, and the likelihood that climate-harming actions will result in more pandemics in the future, Mr Tay and Dr Yeo feel that this is an opportune time to strengthen SUTL Environtech's abilities to provide more effective and environmentally friendly cleaning products within South-east Asia.

They aim to broaden its range of environmentally friendly products that are technology-based and safe for use by families and around food, and establish a manufacturing facility in Singapore.

One of the new products SUTL Environtech plans to add to its arsenal is a surface disinfectant that will not contaminate water systems with chemical residues. SD Labs, which owns sdst and sdpro, is developing this and another product with input from Dr Yeo as a technical adviser, and the surface disinfectant should be launched within the next six months.

Mr Tay declined to share which other brands SUTL Environtech is negotiating with, since competition for their products is sure to be fierce.

The company's move to become a manufacturer of such products is both strategic and practical. For one, it will be heeding the government's call to urge more overseas brands and strategic partners to set up operations here.

"We must produce our own brand, package (these products) in more consumer-friendly sizes and rename the consumer products. It's high time we lead and take the step to create our own brand value," Mr Tay said, noting that this will of course require SUTL Environtech to be tactful and ensure it is fair to its partners.

Manufacturing the products here will also reduce the likelihood of supply being disrupted in crises like the current virus outbreak, said Dr Yeo.

"In a pandemic, countries will shut off their borders, and you get not just a city lockdown but a lockdown for the whole country," he said. "Then even if the product is available, travelling from one country to the next may be an issue."

Mr Tay said SUTL Corporation has invested "more than millions" in SUTL Environtech so far, and will continue to fund the expansion internally as it broadens its reach first in South-east Asia, then to markets farther afield like China and India.

"We will court third-party (investors) when needed, but we are working closely with our manufacturers to see what the size of this lab or plant will be, and carefully looking at the demand," Mr Tay said.

Demand should remain strong, if the world is wise enough to continue upholding new standards for hygiene even after Covid-19 is brought under control, said Dr Yeo.

"There are 10 times more people dying of diarrhoea or other illnesses, and a lot of them are also due to food or surface contamination," he said. "People scramble to get products that can help with Covid-19, but we should be looking at improving hygiene standards moving forward."

Given ongoing travel and business restrictions in various countries, SUTL Environtech does not have a firm timeline for when it will be able to start manufacturing the products locally. But Mr Tay said he and Dr Yeo will keep negotiations going via video conferencing and phone calls, and they remain optimistic about their prospects.

"It will be very disappointing or a surprise, if we don't have anything positive before the end of this year," he said.