Tennant Gaining Traction With Cleaning Technology

Minneapolis, MN, June 15, 2009--Tennant Co. is using a new technology that electrically converts water into a super cleanser.

Some longstanding industrial customers are already using the groundbreaking technology. And in the current environmentally conscious era, Tennant is hoping the chemical-free cleaning will generate hundreds of millions in new sales as it expands its customer base and converts businesses to the new technology.

For Tennant, a revenue boost couldn't come quickly enough. The recession has taken its toll, with revenue falling 24 percent in the first quarter. It's expecting sales for the year will be down at least $100 million from 2008.

"We're in the middle of trying to transform the company from being a floor-cleaning company to being an environmental cleaning solutions company," said Chris Killingstad, Tennant's chief executive. He didn't offer estimates but said chemical-free cleaning products will help Tennant become a much larger company.

"What we have discovered is a way to electrically convert plain tap water to perform like a powerful detergent," said Killingstad, who joined the company in 2002.

The Target Center basketball court is now cleaned with the new technology, and it's employed in retail settings such as Nieman Marcus.

The new green technology, ecH20, adds oxygen bubbles to the water before applying an electric current that separates it into positively and negatively charged water for 45 seconds - while the cleaning is done.

"This is important because the acidic side is a great sanitizer and the alkaline element is a great cleaner," Killingstad said. "When the water goes back into the recovery tank, it reverts back to plain tap water."

That's the process inside Tennant's big ride-on scrubbers. And it recently licensed its invention to a start-up company, Activeion Cleaning Solutions, that is making special spray water bottles that are being used to clean tables and other surfaces in schools and government buildings. Within a year, a smaller version of the sprayer likely will be available to consumers for cleaning at home.