International school in Mexico installs Swedish antiviral technology
As part of actively reducing the spread of infection, the Himalaya International School in Monterrey, Mexico, has had LightAir's antiviral technology IonFlow installed in 120 classrooms.
The school is in the well-situated city of Monterrey in northeastern Mexico and is part of the Semper Altius network, with about 90 established schools in sixteen countries.
"Of course, we want to minimize the spread of infection, reduce sick days and make it easier for our students and staff to achieve their best in our classrooms," says Kevin Egan, principal of Himalaya International School. “LightAir's scientifically proven technology, which minimizes airborne viruses and harmful particles, was very appealing when we explored our possibilities. The pandemic has affected us all and evidence of how the technology neutralizes a variety of viruses, including sars-cov-2, has been important to us when we chose to invest in this solution.”
A seven-year study at the Karolinska Institute has shown how IonFlow technology prevents contact and airborne transmission of the viruses that cause influenza and winter vomiting, for example. Earlier this year, another study by the IrsiCaixa research institute in Barcelona showed that the technology also neutralizes pseudoviruses of sars-cov-1 and sars-cov-2.
"Our patented technologies form the basis of our tailored offering to schools and offices," says Lars Liljeholm, CEO of LightAir. “Our choice to focus on these target groups in the commercial segment is based precisely on the great competitive advantages we have in these types of organizations. In short, our technology cleans better, longer and more quietly than more conventional competing solutions.”
IonFlow is an important component in LightAir's commercial offering aimed at offices and schools, which in the Nordic region are primarily offered on a subscription basis with clean air as a service. The importance of clean air cannot be exaggerated, and a well-known Spanish study has shown how pollution and ultra-fine particle levels affect schoolchildren's development. The results clearly show how children who spend their school day in areas with clean air have a 50 percent better cognitive development over a school year, compared with children in areas with unclean air and a lot of traffic.
“The commercial segment accounts for approximately fifty percent of the entire world market in air purification. Our strategic development, where we continuously and increasingly address this part of the market, continues with a strong focus on the Nordic domestic market, followed by selected European key markets,” says Roger Sogge, COO at LightAir. “Of course, we will also seize every opportunity to cultivate progressive offices and schools in other markets, where the recent delivery to this Mexican school is a good example.”
