This Hosur-based startup has created a cabinet to disinfect all your belongings to combat coronavirus
Genisup has developed Covicide Cabinet, a UV-C Germicidal Lamp-based sterilisation cabinet, which helps in disinfecting belongings at home or in the office to prevent community spread of coronavirus.
Today, people are extremely cautious about what they touch outside their homes like car keys, face masks, gloves, groceries, and even ecommerce packages, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Since there is no sanitiser to disinfect all your belongings, Hosur-based startup Genisup India Private Limited has developed a UV-C Germicidal Lamp-based sterilisation cabinet to control the community spread of COVID-19.
[LtoR] Vinay Seth, and Roshan Kumar Verma, Co-Founders of Genisup
“As evident, not everything can be washed with soap or cleaned with alcohol-based hand sanitiser, like face masks, currency notes, edible items like vegetables, and other personal protective equipment (PPEs). The steriliser works effectively by deactivating the viruses and bacteria present on surfaces,” says Vinay Seth, Co-founder and Director, Genisup India.
Also known as Covicide Cabinet, the cabinet-like lamp developed by Genisup can be used at homes, offices, industrial establishments, and hospitals to disinfect belongings. “Just like it is important to wash hands multiple times, it is also important to disinfect the items,” adds Vinay.
He says the UV-C is of 254 nm wavelength, which is apt for disinfecting items. UV-C is known for deactivating the DNA of viruses, thereby stopping it from multiplying.
A study carried out by US-based National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists reveals that the virus that causes COVID-19 is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces. The scientists also found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable for up to three hours in aerosols, for up to four hours on copper, for up to 24 hours on cardboard, and for up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
Made in India
Started in 2018 by Vinay (29) and Roshan Kumar Verma (29), Genisup is an outcome of Vinay and Roshan's love for engineering. The duo met as colleagues in a two-wheeler making company, and bonded over innovation and entrepreneurial bent of mind.
Vinay and Roshan decided to start the company at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, as the location provides close proximity to the automotive industry, one of the company’s focussed sectors.
Genisup helps companies in creating parts in-house, which are usually imported from companies like China. However, when coronavirus outbreak started and resulted in a lockdown from March 25 onwards, the duo decided to come up with a solution during this crucial time and zeroed in on sanitisation. Vinay says, the company diverted all its resources to concentrate on solutions in fighting COVID-19.
“These solutions are aimed towards multiple field works, especially frontline workers such as medical professionals and police personnel,” says Vinay.
The promoters say they are looking to collaborate with organisations across different sectors and make their establishments safe to visit.
“For example, apartment complexes may install a sterilisation box at the entry points to sterilise couriers and packages received from outside so that whatever goes inside the apartment is safe. These solutions may be deployed as per the requirements of the establishments and we are flexible with customisation,” he says.
The company is accepting orders for Covicide Cabinet and is ready for mass production. However, it wants the product to be included among essential commodities, “as without that, we cannot manufacture it in large quantities,” he adds. The product is currently available on the company’s website for Rs 12,499.
The company is so far bootstrapped and is now looking for external funding of Rs 2 to Rs 5 crore to set up bigger facilities for mass production and managing logistics. The startup currently has a capacity to make 40 to 50 Covicide Cabinets a day.
Vinay says the external funding will also help the startup work on other products in the pipeline, which can be helpful in stopping community spread of coronavirus.
Edited by Javed Gaihlot