Local manufacturer, Premier, develops prototype, new product offering
Tina L. Scott
EDITOR
Earlier this year, in response to COVID-19, sanitizing everything became the norm. Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes appeared everywhere, shopping carts were sprayed with sanitizing solutions, and every effort was made, at home and in businesses across the country, to kill the COVID-19 virus and stop the spread of infection that turned into a worldwide pandemic. But with all of that sanitizing and all of those chemicals, new concerns were raised about the short- and long-term effects of the chemicals themselves.
Then it was discovered that UV light could kill the virus, and an idea was born. Premier Companies, Inc., of Merrill, a family-owned company specializing in complete metal fabrication and finishing services and products, started developing an idea for a UV cart sanitizer. Cody Schmidt, Vice President of Sales with Premier, approached the owners of Dave’s County Market to see if they would be interested in installing a prototype they had developed.
“When the pandemic hit, I think it was Michael [VanDerGeest] that had the idea of doing it,” Jeff Bonnell, co-owner of Dave’s County Market recalled. “They had fabricated one, and I knew Cody and had known him for years, so he approached us.”
Mike VanDerGeest, Vice President of Premier, says the UV cart sanitizer was still in the research and development phase at the time. “The Bonnells were generous enough to work with us to iron out some of the details,” VanDerGeest said.
“It was a no-brainer for us to get on board with them,” Bonnell said. “It was a perfect fit, because if we do have an issue, they’re right here [in Merrill]. They’re good people; they’re local.”
“The Premier UV Cart Sanitizer uses 280NM UV light to kill viruses and bacteria on shopping carts,” VanDerGeest says. And it’s easy to operate. “How it works is the store employee gathers the carts and puts them into the UV sanitizer, closes the door and pushes the start button. The inside of the system then turns on a series of 280 NM UV germicidal LED lamps that sanitizes the shopping carts in 30 second cycles. This gives the store an opportunity to offer their customers sanitized carts without the use of chemicals and costing a few pennies a day to operate.”
The number of carts done per cycle depends on the size of the configuration. Built in four foot sections, it all depends on how many sections the facility has room for. “County Market is able to do 12 carts a cycle,” VanDerGeest says. “Max we have seen done to date is 18 shopping carts [at a time].”
Double or single entry/exit options are available, and the length of the unit can be customized to accommodate different space requirements. Customers can even select color options to align with their store brand.
While a relatively new concept and product line, Premier has been manufacturing the machines for about six months, and the prototype was initially installed at Dave’s County Market this past summer. Since then Premier has installed a second UV cart sanitizer at a grocery store in the Appleton area.
While better known for product lines that supply the car wash industry (and others) with dryers, vacuums, signage, LED lighting and canopy stations, Premier is excited to be offering a new product line that provides a solution to the needs of retailers–a simple, chemical-free, easy to use means of sanitizing shopping carts to keep their customers safe.
“We would like to thank The Bonnell Family and all of the great employees at Dave’s County Market for working with our team on their new UV Cart sanitizing system,” VanDerGeest says. He acknowledges the first six month were a learning curve, and appreciates the opportunity to work with a local company to finetune the system in a real-world environment.