AT: B. Derek Shaw
MOUNTOURSVILLE, Pa. — In business for 55 years, 55% of the custom-molding business the Ralph S. Alberts Company, Inc. conducts is for the amusement and recreation industries. Applications include foam safety and restraint system padding and fiber-reinforced plastic vehicle bodies. In wake of the recent pandemic, the company has added a coating that kills all types of bacteria.
Amusement Today talked with company President Seth Alberts about BactiBlock, the product they introduced. “We anticipated our clients’ needs and started developing value-added solutions. We sought to bring additional protection, safety, assurance, comfort and peace of mind to our customers’ guests and employees through industry reopenings.”
They worked with their suppliers to develop a coating that could be applied to the components they manufacture that did just that.
“With multiple contact surfaces on any amusement ride, the coating applied to our foam parts will help eliminate the spread of germs, bacteria and viruses — including all coronaviruses,” said third generation owner, Alberts.
Initially, the Ralph S. Alberts Company focused its attention on applying the ionic silver coating on foam safety and padding devices, along with certain interactive components they manufacture. Now the company is exploring utilizing BactiBlock with Fiberglass and composite ride vehicle bodies that are also manufactured at the facility.
Alberts talked about the health benefits of the coating. “The proprietary and patent-pending BactiBlock technology is based on silver-functionalized clay that creates a naturally sourced and highly efficient antimicrobial product. The additive prevents the growth of bacteria, mold, fungus and other microorganisms, which also makes our coating a powerful tool against odors and stains.
“The active ingredient in our BactiBlock coating is ionic silver (Ag), a naturally occurring element with a well-known antimicrobial spectrum, as well as being widely recognized as safe for human contact. Silver is a broad-range antimicrobial agent that has been proven effective against most harmful microorganisms present in everyday life, such as E.coli, Legionella, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, S. aureus, Aspergillus Niger among others,” said Alberts.
The coating is designed for long-term applications and although durability in most cases depends on wear and environmental conditions, the antimicrobial performance can be expected to endure for several years.
Alberts was asked about use on existing rides. “Currently, we are only applying the coating to components at our facility. However, within our Oil & Gas Division — Alberts Spray Solutions — we have multiple mobile spray rigs for the application of polyurea secondary containment liners. We are in the process of converting them to use for this specific coating; therefore, we anticipate being able to provide the service on-site soon under certain criteria.”
The past two decades, the R.S. Alberts Company has been working with Indianapolis based Accessa, its paint/coating supplier.
“We’ve had a long-standing relationship with our paint partner for more than 20 years. They’ve always been very supportive of our desire to provide our customer base with the highest quality, and most durable products on the market, all while pushing the envelope with creative theming and geometric designs,” said Alberts. “With health and safety being our number one priority, this coating adds to that focus. We are grateful for the partnership that has allowed us to bring this important development to the industry, at such a critical time.”
Initial response, even during these unusual circumstances, has been quite good, Alberts explained. “The feedback and inquiries have been extremely positive. Most all industries are in pure survival mode but are starting to develop and implement plans for reopening that adhere to CDC and OSHA recommended guidelines. This product allows companies to go above and beyond just the basic guidelines and can be an important aspect of their marketing strategy, helping create the reassurance that will be paramount in getting guests back in the parks quickly.”
Also the company recently introduced two additional products for the amusement industry: touchless electrostatic surface sanitation along with GCSSD200, a surface sanitizer and disinfectant.
The electrostatic product is a hospital-grade disinfectant with EPA recommended COVID-19 disinfectant. The chemicals have quick kill times, leave little to no residue, are non-toxic to both people and the environment, and are designed to continue disinfecting long after application.
The sanitizer and disinfectant, also hospital-grade, use multiple EPA listed ingredients that have explicit kill claims against 99.9% of illness-causing germs and bacteria including human coronavirus.
The R.S. Alberts Company also serves other business sectors including: simulation, medical and healthcare, construction, electronics, apparel and sports, industrial and aviation.
This article appears in the JULY 2020 issue of Amusement Today.
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