Platform for the food and beverage industry
Reduce infection pressure. It should be top of mind for all food producers. With its proven and certified Nocotech concept and with extensive support, helps Medtradex food companies in doing so. Soon it will do so from new premises in Leuven. From there, it intends to continue looking for innovative solutions and collaborations to ensure food safety in our industry.
To the roots of Medtradex you don't have to look far. The company name stands for Medical Trade Export. So innovative solutions that can improve health and safety have always been in the company's DNA. CEO Ivo Schapdryver: "We started in 2006 with air and water treatment systems, surface disinfection and the cleaning of complex surgical instruments. The knowledge and know-how we've built up in those, we've been applying to other sectors since 2018. Wherever a safe environment must remain safeguarded from contamination." So solutions are modelled on the food industry to help reduce the infection pressure there. A strategy that turns out to be the right one. To respond to the growth, moves Medtradex soon to a new location in the north of Leuven. "Our storage capacity will triple and also gives us plenty of room to further develop our services. The geographical location, right at the junction of the E314 and E40 motorways and close to bicycle highways and the train station, will benefit both our customers and our employees. The solar panels on the roof also allow us to meet our own power needs."
The secret to this success? The flexibility the company is able to put on board. "Think of us as a speedboat, agile, quick to anticipate and very focused," Schapdryver smiles. "A disinfection process can best be automatic and measurable and therefore reproducible. Although the basic principle is simple, proper cleaning followed by thorough disinfection, the reality turns out to be a lot more complex. All sorts of factors in a room can trigger cross-contamination." Medtradex therefore also stands for support. "In close consultation with the quality managers within food companies, we take charge of implementation. With the right preparation, we can make a difference with a technology that has an impact on the total infection pressure in a room. And that for all types of space: from cutting rooms to packaging lines, cold rooms and storage areas, with organic products that leave no residue and are better for people and the environment," says Schapdryver. Once implemented, what follows is child's play. At the push of a button, the mobile units can start up; the fixed units start up fully automatically, at pre-programmed times.
That food companies need to be awake to infection prevention goes without saying. Corona has shown how quickly viruses can mutate and become more resistant and how important it is to get everyone in the organization on board with this safety thinking. "A pervasive approach where infection prevention is not seen as a cost, but food safety becomes an asset, that is the way of the future. The legislator sets clear limits for food products. Those who fail to meet the bar suffer reputational damage and will also feel the impact economically. A long-term vision in which infection prevention is an integral part of operations is needed." The Nocotech concept can be an important weapon in the fight against infections. "You are going to directly disinfect food contact surfaces, but also address sources of infection that can threaten food safety through cross-contamination, even when they are hard to reach. Regardless of the space, regardless of the type of material ... it's always the same technology with the same quality assurance. The Nocotech concept has been developed, tested and fully substantiated as one unit, device and means, including in terms of biocide registration."
And the future? "We are of course looking forward first and foremost to the move, which is now very close. Finishing the new building is in the final stages. But even after that, we will continue to look for new ways to facilitate the use of our products in the most practical way for the end users. Today we are already working in this way with cleaning companies active in the food industry, but we are looking at how we can introduce our technology even more widely to ensure food safety. We also expect to start a collaboration with a manufacturer this year to offer a strong complementary product to the market." To be continued, then, no doubt.
