Loyal Textile Mills Launches First Reusable PPE with Triple Viral Shield Technology in India

Loyal Textile Mills Limited today launched VIRAL SHIELD a Line of Covid-19 Anti-Viral, Reusable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Masks and Protective Fashion Wear Range. The series has been launched in collaboration with Reliance Industries India and HeiQ from Switzerland. This PPE emerges as the World’s first Reusable PPE that has passed the Viral Penetration Test, Synthetic Blood penetration test and the SBPR test.

Triple shield protection

i) R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric which is inherently anti-microbial inhibiting bacterial and viral* growth

ii) HeiQ Viroblock anti-viral treatment on the fabric

iii) Viral barrier PU film lamination for the first time in the world.

Loyal has strived hard to innovate a range of products that would meet the current demand for reliable and reusable protective gears during this Covid-19 pandemic. Loyal Textile Mills Limited collaborated with Reliance Industries India and HeiQ from Switzerland to innovate this reusable protective PPE, mask and fashion wear.

R|ElanTM FeelFresh (from Reliance Industries India) fibre used in manufacturing this fabric is inherently anti-microbial that inhibits any viral* or bacterial growth. The fabric is then specially treated with “HeiQ Viroblock” a latest technology innovation from Switzerland, proven to have astounding Anti-Viral efficacy of 99.99% against Coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19).

Loyal Textile Mills limited has engineered the fabric with a Viral Barrier PU film lamination from Taiwan that adds up as another powerful protective later.

Launching the triple viral shield products from Loyal’s signature brand SUPERA SHIELDTM, Mrs. Valli M Ramaswami, Chairperson of Loyal Textile Mills Ltd., said “Loyal Textile Mills Ltd has a heritage of 125 years of continuous existence in Indian Textile Industry. Our R&D Centre recognised by the Government of India and Technical teams have 27 years of experience in Technical Textiles. During Feb/ March 2020, Loyal Management team felt the need to join the war against COVID-19 Pandemic and designed Reusable Masks and PPE Kits and today has reached a stage of offering a range of PPE clothing, masks and a range of fashion wear and casual wear, which have a triple protection technology from viruses and bacteria”.   “This is first of its kind in the world. Guided by the philosophy of our late Chairman Sri Manikam Ramaswami, we will continue to keep abreast of the technology and add several more firsts to our credit, as in the past”, she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Dhamodaraswamy Devadas, Chief Technology and Business Development Officer of Loyal Textiles Mills Limited said, “This reusable PPE products can be washed ten times and sterilized 10 times for reuse. Heat Sealing PU tapes have been used to seal the seams. All the three  components of the PPE have been tested and passed for Viral Penetration test ASTM F 1671 – 2013, Synthetic Blood penetration test ASTM F 1670/F and the seams have passed SBPR test ASTM 1670-08 (2014). This is the World’s first Reusable PPE that has passed the Viral Penetration Test. ” 

Mr. Dhamodaraswamy Devadas, also added, “SS 95 medical respiratory type Mask launched today is a Reusable N95 type of mask with the same level of protection of 95% Particulate Filtration Efficiency and 99.9% Bacterial Filtration Efficiency. These masks are treated with HeiQ Viroblock and have the inner layers powered by R|Elan™ FeelFresh woven fabric that are inherently antimicrobial. Loyal is also launching an antiviral fashion wear range with an emphasis on safety and style for domestic and export markets.”

Talking about the collaboration to reach out to the Indian consumers, Mr Gunjan Sharma, CMO, Reliance Polyester said, “We are pleased to join hands with Loyal Textile Mills Ltd, a pioneering player in Indian Technical Textile industry to support them launch Masks and PPE kits powered by R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric. This collaboration underlines the performance that R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric provides to the consumer in improving wellness and hygiene through its inherent antimicrobial attribute.”

Mr. Carlo Centonze, CEO and co-founder of HeiQ Viroblock, highlighted the special features of HeiQ Viroblock “HeiQ Viroblock was recently tested at one of the world’s leading virology institutes and showed  99.99% reduction of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in 30 minutes. Its synergistic dual mode of action leaves viruses no chance and can enhance the protection factor of a mask by a factor 100. Tested repeatedly by industry standards such as the ISO 18184 and ISO 20743, it is effective against all enveloped viruses, bacteria and fungi. This novel Swiss technology uses 100% skin proved hypoallergenic cosmetic ingredients and features a 72% bio-based renewable content. HeiQ Viroblock respirator masks have recently been approved by the US FDA under EUA. The technology is registered by the US EPA (FIFRA), EU BPR (REACH) and JP MITI and is homologized with ZDHC, Oekotex and Bluesign.”

Explaining the salient features of the Reusable PPE Gown set Prof. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Vice Chancellor of World University of Design said, “The design features include - Easy donning and quick doffing without any assistance and without any danger of touching the inner garments or skin; a full head cover offering full protection for head, face and neck region; and Shoe covers up to the knee. Special

ergonomic features have been incorporated to assist operations like Thumb loops, Side knots and longer length of the gown. A unique aspect of the design is that they have been sized as per Indian body shapes and so do not face any problem of bulk & overflowing as is faced in imported PPEs.”

Mr. Valerio Cagnoli, Director of Gruppo P&P Loyal S.p.A., Italy, a joint venture company of Loyal Textile said, “We operate mainly in Italy with a focus to European markets. With the help of Loyal Textile we developed many technical fabrics which allowed us to get very important clients. Some of our fabrics are cutting-edge innovations in the fire protection field. We succeed in this field mostly thanks to the wish and will of the former chairman of Loyal Textile Mr. Manikam Ramaswami. Still today I personally follow his philosophy not to be second to anyone in the safety of human workers. We need to highlight the HeiQViroblock and the R|Elan FeelFresh performance along with the opportunity of 10 times washes of the products. We congratulate Loyal’s R&D team for their success in coming out with the Virus penetration Resistant PPE by using a Special Virus PU Barrier film.”

A ramp walk by the staff and workers of Loyal showcasing the antiviral products made by them & a Dance titled ‘Kirumi Nashini’ were the other highlights of the launch event.

Acer Unveils Acer One 14 – The Affordable Fully Loaded Laptop for Education and Small Businesses at Just Rs 22,999

Highlights:

•The new Acer One 14 is designed to cater to the immediate need of educational institutions and business to go digital without high investment

•Acer One 14 laptop is equipped with Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor

•Acer One 14 comes with Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 bit, 1 Gigabit LAN port with at least 2 USB 3.0 Type A

•The laptop comes with fully loaded specifications with 3 years warranty

Acer, the global PC brand, today updated its commercial line-up with fully loaded affordable new Acer One 14 laptop. It is powered by the Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor 4415U in a compact form-factor and impressive screen to body ration with a 14-inch display. The Acer One 14 is paired with 4GB DDR4 RAM expandable memory up to 32GB and host Intel® WiFi + Bluetooth connectivity. Especially designed for educational, Small-Medium Businesses and Enterprises to help them in the digital revolution the laptop comes with features include HD Cam with Microphone, 1 Gigabit LAN port, 2 USB 3.0 Type-A, 1 USB 2.0 Type A, and up to 4 hours of battery life.

Speaking on this occasion, Sudhir Goel, Chief of Commercial Business Group, Acer India said, “I am thrilled to announce the launch of new affordable Acer One 14 laptop designed specially keeping in mind the enterprise & education sector. Acer has always tried to stay ahead of the consumer’s demand be it the productivity at work or empowering students. This launch will enable working professionals, students and teachers to optimize their time with the laptop offering best performance and features for the price. This is an excellent laptop when it comes to affordability, security & loaded operating system is concerned.”

Driven by the goal of digital transformation, Acer India is reaching out to schools and educational institutions as well as businesses, for learning and work style transformation. The new device offers the performance and value that customers will be able to appreciate while investing in a laptop.

Pricing and Availability:

The Acer One 14 is priced from Rs. Rs 22,999 onwards and will be available at Acer E-store (https://store.acer.com/en-in/) and at over 1500 Acer channel partner stores across India. 

What is the latest buzz on Sun, IBM deal?

Whether it is mere speculation or a fact , the combination of two IT giants -- IBM and Sun Microsystems -- will surely alter the dynamics of the IT services market.

Of recent times, everybody is racing to offer hardware-software services and own data centres. We have seen that happen with Cisco s Unified Computing Systems, HP bought EDS, now IBM is looking at Sun.

There is no official comment from the two companies, but if the deal goes through it will give IBM a bigger control of the market and make it a fitting rival for HP, Dell and Microsoft.

Together, IBM and Sun would have about 65% of the market for server computers running the Unix operating system and 42% of the total server market, measured by the dollar value of the market.

Like Sun's Java and Solaris, the operating systems have gained substantial market share over the years. Similarly, Sun could give it some extra hardware market share specifically in servers.

However, reports indicate that Sun has not been doing well ever since the global recession began last September. Reports indicate that IBM may pay at least $6.5 billion in cash for the deal, which would be a 100% premium over Tuesday's closing price for Sun.

In last year's fourth quarter, IBM led in the global server market revenue with $4.9 billion in sales, about 36% of the market. HP was No. 2 with $3.9 billion in sales ie, about 29% of the market. Dell, with $1.4 billion in sales, and Sun, with about $1.3 billion, were a distant No. 3 and No. 4.

However, Sun's Solaris servers have a strong presence in the premium market, which is seen as more profitable. That is why that valuation may be justifiable for IBM.

But Sun's recent acquisition of StorageTek for $4.1 billion was termed as a hogwash, mainly because it did not go well with Sun and ended up in cold waters.

With customers like HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Tata Teleservices, Sun's strong presence in the financial services and telecom domains has been the envy of its rivals.

But in case of a merger, issues like having a number of common customers and how to merge the two global brands will come up. As a Sun employee, said, Sun employees are concerned about the future of our products if the acquisition happens, since there is a significant overlap between our products and that of IBM s.

Sun's corporate communications office terms it as a mere speculation and refused to comment on the rumour . So did the IBM communication team, saying they have no reactions from their headquarters and cannot comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, T.R. Madan Mohan, managing partner, Browne and Mohan, said that the WSJ picked up the news from the blog of a Sun employee.

According to him, the deal may not come through, but given the market cap of Sun, which is just about $ 2 billion, and IBM is supposed to have quoted $ 6.5 to $ 6.8 billion that is a very good valuation for a company that has been dithering.

Similarly, Sun's strengths are in government, BFSI and telecom. In telecom, it has some marque clients such as NTTDocomo, Dialog, Telefunken, Vodafone, etc which run mission-critical applications.

IBM has not been able to move into these accounts globally, unlike the easy entry the company had with Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Idea in India. By acquiring Sun, IBM will get access to these critical markets and benefit from the Java/My SQL communities.

CXOtoday