Columbia company gets American-made, virus-killing products to schools, hospitals
Rhino Medical Supply company gained national attention last year as one of the few U.S. distributors of N-95 masks, helping to fix a supply-chain shortage during the pandemic.
The Columbia company was built one year ago to fight the pandemic, but Rhino is continuing to grow after most people put the masks away. The company is securing deals in the American-made medical supply chain for virus- fighting products. Since day 1, the company has earned $13 million in revenue, according to spokesperson Steven Austin.
The company’s two newest products are a U-VC light system that can kill airborne viruses and a newly created type of cotton scrubs treated with antibacterial technology.
“Rhino Medical Supply seeks companies and products that align with our corporate citizenship commitments, including giving back to others, using renewable resources and encouraging inclusion,” said Lance Brown, CEO.
The team at Rhino has already sold its U-VC systems to multiple school districts in the Southeast. On Wednesday, the company was named the sole distributor of the innovated scrubs. The mission of the company stays the same, to bring life back to the American supply chain for medical equipment.
Why U-VC?
Many schools purchased Bipolar Ionization units during the pandemic in an effort to fight airborne viruses, but the technology’s effectiveness is under question.
Boeing tested different ionization methods in its aircraft and released a statement this month saying it would not be installing bipolar ionization units in the company’s planes because the “air ionization has not shown significant disinfection effectiveness,” Kaiser Health News reported June 8.
A different method of killing viruses in the air, Rhino Medical argues, is the old and tested method of germicidal U-VC lighting systems.
“We have hospital-grade, medical-grade GUV (germicidal ultraviolet) equipment that’s been retrofitted for commercial use, meaning it can go in buildings, it can go in restaurants, it can go in schools, hotels — you name it,” Brown said.
The company is working on securing deals with school districts across the state, according to Tripp Robinson, Rhino’s chief strategy officer.
The systems costs about $600 for a U-VC unit that covers about 400 square feet of space. Some schools are opting to put them in every classroom, while others are putting them in designated spaces like the nurses office or the cafeteria, Robinson said.
“Until now, you haven’t been able to even have this option to put in your facility, so there’s not a lot of education around it,” said Brown.
UV-C lighting is not on the Centers for Disease Control’s list of disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2. The CDC considers UV-C a pesticidal device or a device “used to destroy, repel, trap or mitigate any pests, including bacteria and viruses,” which are not routinely reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agencies recommend consumers review the specific manufacturer’s efficacy testing before buying these types of products. Rhino Medical Supply distributes U-VC systems manufactured by NetZero USA. NetZero USA states that its germicidal lighting can kill viruses, including the one that causes COVID, in a room in 10 minutes or less.
Georgia- grown cotton scrubs
Rhino Medical Supply secured a deal this month to be the sole distributor of America Knits-Field to Closet 100% cotton scrubs that are manufactured in Swainsboro, Georgia. The Deltapine seed cotton is grown in Georgia and the fabric is dyed in the Carolinas.
All of the fabric is treated with an antiviral, antibacterial and anti-odor chemical called PROTX2 AV that can kill viruses within 10 minutes of contact, according to Brown.
PROTX2 AV is registered as a pesticide with the EPA and “can be used as an agent to control the growth and action of microorganisms, and control generation of odors, on textiles such as cotton, cottonblends,” according to the agency.
Three percent of every purchase goes directly back to the Georgia farmers, Brown said, and consumers can track exactly what farm provided the cotton for their scrubs. America Knits is a textile manufacturer and Field to Closet is a company that links cotton farmers to the fashion supply chain.
“This partnership matches perfectly with our focus on providing prosperity for rural, smaller communities, and creating quality, environmentally sustainable products in the United States,” said Steve Hawkins, president of America Knits.
Brown made this connection with America Knits after being featured in a New York Times article about N-95 mask distribution.
The product is about to enter the testing phase with 15 rural Georgia hospitals to receive medical cotton scrubs at no cost this summer.
“The bigger, overall, like overarching mission is to re-shore the U.S. manufacturing supply chain, so we’re not relying on everything coming from overseas,” said Brown.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 10:55 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that Rhino Medical Supply had secured UV-C lighting deals with major school districts in the state, but the company has not officially closed on these deals yet.
