German Business Awards 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 German Business Awards 21 , Innovation Award in Nano Scale Liquid Glass Coating Technology 2020 McClelland tells us more about the firm’s unique product offering and how it could help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Sep20927 CCM is a typical German GmbH which supplies sophisticated liquid glass coatings to more than 80 countries. Liquid Glass is in essence ‘spray on glass’ Technical Director Neil McClelland explains, talking about the firm’s core product offering. This revolutionary technology is now supplied to sectors as diverse as airlines, food production, healthcare, garment manufacturers and, perhaps most significantly, the retail sector. However, CCM also supplies liquid glass coatings which protect surfaces such as statues by Salvador Dali, the world's most expensive car and the phones and windscreens of people around the world! In fact the technologies which CCM supply can be applied to almost every surface in order to create easy clean, hydrophobic super durable protection with various degrees of anti-pathogen protection. “Organisations like ours are central to the economic growth of Germany – we are a highly dynamic SME who puts people at its centre,” he begins. “Since day one our core values have remained unchanged. Our ethos is that we are completely open, transparent and supportive of those who work with us or simply contact us. We treat every person who contacts CCM with great respect.” In such a cutting-edge and fast-evolving industry, it is imperative that CCM differentiates itself from competitors in order to stay ahead of the crowd and it appears that the secret to the success of the firm is a mixture of great and often unique products at a competitive price, supported by a team of highly skilled individuals, who focus on presenting the extensive portfolio of technologies in a highly professional manner. “The team at CCM love to solve problems and they will not rest until they have supported their clients even if this means directing the clients to a technology which is not supplied by CCM,” he continues, telling us that many of the firm’s innovative new coatings have evolved from this problem-solving process. “For example, we were recently asked if we could supply a penetrative coating for stone, which lasts for 20+ years and which is both hydrophobic and stain resistant. We could not offer such a coating and so we designed one. This is now an exceptionally significant technology.” Over the years, the team at CCM has remained small and dedicated, which allows for a personal service to be supplied to customers, but also ensures that everyone is committed to the greater cause. “This team has been in place for over 10 years and so we have total consistency in all aspects of the work which we do. This structure also allows us to be highly productive. We are undoubtedly "boxing above our weight" in that our business is recognised as being within the Top 10 of suppliers of nano-scale coatings and also suppliers of long term sanitation technologies. At the moment, we are keen to maintain a winning formula but we are always alert to the changing dynamics of the world in which we live.” The dynamics certainly have changed over the last 12 months with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, like all great companies, CCM has adapted to this turbulence and even been able to glean success from it. Some years ago, Neil explains that an anti-pathogen coating was presented which has now been proven to kill Corona Virus (Covid 19) by 99% within five minutes (when dried) rising to 99.999% after 24 hours. The coating is active for at least 10 days. Needless to say this product is now being supplied on a global basis and will form the basis for safeguarding and protecting people in the future. “All keypads, ATMs and touchscreens in fast food environments will be coated with this technology. It also kills bacteria and fungi to hospital grade levels.” With regards to the future, Neil is tight-lipped however he ‘hints’ at several new and innovative developments that are in the pipeline. “We are in the innovation business and we always have new technologies under development,” he laughs. “Having noted this fact, we have some sleeping giants within our portfolio which we know are world-leading technologies. It takes a great deal of effort and some luck to establish new products. “Overall, we are successful as we have a very different approach to developing new technologies. We share our skills and enthusiasm with small start-up organisations and multi nationals. We are quietly tenacious.” Contact: Neil McClelland Company: CCM GmbH Web Address: www.ccm-liquid-glass.com