Marietta Business Spotlight: Aguair

This month, I was able to have a timely conversation with a Marietta business, called Aguair, that has quickly moved to join the effort to meet the needs that have arisen during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Aguair has been able to provide their products, the SaniCart and ClensAir, to different businesses and industries all over the world to aid in the disinfection of both surfaces and air.

The Beginning

Itamar Kleinberger and Shakeel Merchant started Aguair’s parent company, Prodew Inc. in 2001 with its primary focus being on serving supermarkets with their proprietary misting and humidity products. The duo, doing everything themselves from design to manufacturing to sales to shipping, found major success in the industry. So much so that Prodew is now considered a global leader in supermarket produce and humidity systems. They then founded a second company called Pro Water Parts, an e-commerce business that addresses water filtration needs. About 5 years ago, the team recognized a demand for their products in other areas of the produce supply chain, including greenhouses, delivery trucks, and retail store backrooms and realized they had the opportunity to expand. With this expansion into new markets, their third company, Aguair, was born. Starting out in a 2000 SF facility in Marietta, the three companies have now grown to more than 40,000 SF spread out amongst 5 buildings and 50 employees!

Their Fight Against COVID-19

As the companies expanded into various industries and sectors and continued to receive positive reviews from customers, the team began to understand the potential of their Aguair technologies in public health. With the spread of COVID-19 and its ability to linger and contaminate both surfaces and the air, they realized that their current technology had the ability to curb the spread of the virus. With this understanding, they began to ramp up the production of their ClensAir and SaniCart products to provide them to hospitals, ambulances, grocery stores, government agencies, hotels, schools, restaurants, gyms, and more.

The SaniCart is a micro-fogging disinfection system that can be used with any EPA approved sanitizing agent. To use, you simply roll it into an enclosed room, turn it on, and walk away. It will then disinfect both the surfaces and the air, as its patented nozzle allows the disinfectant droplets to suspend in the air for an extended period of time to sanitize the air before settling on surfaces. In fact, our very own Marietta Fire Department can attest to their incredible technology, as it was used at our local fire station. The ClensAir is touted as one of the most technologically advanced air purifiers on the market and uses a patented, six-stage process to remove and kill pathogens from the air. It has the ability to kill a wide range of airborne pathogens, including COVID-19 and Influenza!

Why Marietta?

The company’s founders expressed their appreciation for the City of Marietta throughout their 19-year tenure. They said that Marietta has always been very “proactive in helping our small business thrive,” and they continuously voiced their gratitude for Teresa Thorpe, an Economic Development Division employee, and her attentiveness to their business and its needs. In 2011, Prodew also had the rare opportunity to take advantage of a since- discontinued grant program for which Mayor Tumlin visited their facility to award them with funds to kick-start their R&D efforts. They credit their growth and success to the “extremely pro-business” culture that Marietta fosters.

“The Bar is Raised”

Aguair has always strived to produce the highest quality products, but they did note that global expectations for sanitization results have risen due to the crisis. Despite this rise, they are certain that their products are meeting and exceeding those expectations. They believe that their sanitization technology will play a vital role in re-opening the economy and allowing businesses to operate at a level of cleanliness that will make both employees and citizens feel safe and secure once again. The City of Marietta is proud to have businesses of this caliber working to help the public during this difficult time.

For more information on Aguair and Prodew products, visit https://www.aguair.com/ and https://www.prodew.com/.