TecMark is a Cambridge based Research and Development Company that has been solving global problems for many years. Products that overcome those global problems can then be purchased direct from TecMark or via the network of national distributors. Many customers enjoy becoming part of the development team development team as that ensures the creation of products that reflect market needs. TecMark has a complex portfolio of projects, as shown by the two which are currently reaching the market. The SAIFER range of cleaning, hygiene and healthcare products. Three important points show why cleaning and hygiene are now global concerns. All round the world microbes have risen in prominence in recent years. Antibiotic resistant “Superbugs” disrupt hospitals and kill patients, viruses cause epidemics and diseases like Tuberculosis which were generally under control have resurfaced. Many older style disinfectants are too toxic, corrosive, volatile or noxious for modern use or have earned a bad environmental profile. In many cases detergents stop disinfectants from working, a little known technical point that has caused many problems. TecMark thus devised the SAIFER Range to combat these problems and have achieved the following results: Improved Infection Control through high level Anti-Microbial action or sterility Increased comfort for users and surroundings through cosmetic properties Saves by providing a fully integrated range Eliminates the need and presence of toxic, noxious chemicals with a totally safe solution Gains confidence through frequent, effective use Maximises your budget through competitively priced products The SAIFER range is designed around our new and unique “Formulation 550”, a sterilant that contains its own cleaning component. It kills the dangerous microbes including TB, all virus groups, bacterial spores and the MRSA “Superbug”. But uniquely, Formulation 550 is positively beneficial to skin so the ingredients used in SAIFER Instrument Sterilant can also be used in SAIFER Hand Wash. It has taken us 5 years to achieve this unique combination of positive safety and total microbial kill adn we would like to thank the many customers who assisted us in achieving this goal. Z-valve for packing liquids in flexible containers. Excess packaging has become a serious global concern. The Z-valve is a simple device made from the actual bag that is holding the liquid. Like most simple answers, it creates many opportunities. As an example, a 200ml plastic bottle of shampoo uses 20-30 gram of plastic but a Z-valve pouch of the same volume could use 90% less. Most shampoo bottles have different plastics for the bottle and lid which need to be separated during recycling, whereas the Z-valve pouch is only one material that can be immediately recycled. The Z-valve won the highly prized Innovation Award 2000 from the UK packaging industry, an indication of how they appreciate the opportunities generated by this simple invention. A few of the markets that will benefit from the Z-valve include hand hygiene, hair, body and skin care, drinks and liquid concentrates like bags of coffee in coffee machines. SAIFER Hand Rub and the Z-valve are combined to help busy nurses prevent the spread of infections in hospitals. A 10ml plastic Z-valve pouch containing SAIFER Hand Rub is attached to each nurses’ uniform. When the nurses move from one patient to the next, all they need do is squeeze SAIFER Hand Rub from the pouch and rub it onto their hands. Many advantages arise from this simple combination: very low cost infection control convenient time saving aid for busy dedicated nurses alcohol free hand rub that leaves the hands feeling comfortable complete kill of all the dangerous hospital microbes confidence to the patient who can see good hand hygiene in practice packaging that can be easily and cheaply recycled. TecMark’s other R&D; projects will be placed onto this web-site when appropriate.   2000 Innovation Award from the UK packaging industry for the Z-valve. A highly prized award that reflected the very significant advances made available by a very simple invention in a very complicated industry. 2000 SMART Feasibility Award from the Department of Trade and Industry for a new trigger spray. Existing trigger sprays contain over ten pieces made from several different materials, so they will fail to meet the requirements of new recycling legislation. Our new design, which should only need four pieces all made of the same material, will reduce unit costs and eliminate the current recycling problems. 500 million trigger sprays are discarded each year, so an answer that allowed them all to be recycled would solve a huge global problem. 1998 SPUR Award from the Department of Trade and Industry to develop a new sterilant. In the USA over 80,000 patients die each year from infections they caught in hospital. Similar rates occur in England where £1billion are lost each year. This is an extremely complex problem, but the SPUR Award allowed us to develop a range of products that could overcome the problem worldwide. 1996 SMART Award from the Department of Trade and Industry to develop a safe disinfectant that killed bacterial spores. Throughout the 1990’s there was a relentless increase in the number of elderly hospital patients killed by a spore-forming microbe called Clostridium difficile. Spores are very hard to kill and most compounds that do kill spores are too toxic to use near patients, especially very ill old patients. Through the SMART Award we created a product that rapidly killed spores and was safe and pleasant enough to use as a bubble bath! St John’s Innovation Centre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. CB4 0WS. Phone: +44 (0) 1223 422 160 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 422 161 Email: [email protected]