Solution for biofilm buildup and water pathogen launched in the U.S.

Bio-Cide International have reached an agreement with Key Solutions and LLK Greenhouse Solutions, a national horticultural service provider offering design, supply/distribution and construction solutions, to bring their Oxine®WT solution to the American market. Oxine®WT can be used to disinfect media, water, nutrient solutions, irrigation lines, equipment, the environment inside their growing operations and can help growers combat biofilm and organisms of concern such as Erwinia, Botrytis, Pythium, Fusarium, and Rhizoctonia. Robert Picek with Bio-Cide International stated that “People want to solve an issue and they look for a solution, for people from the horticultural industry that issue is with waterborne plant pathogens and biofilm control, and we offer a solution.”

The companies met each other at CannaCon in Seattle. “Our booths were 20 feet apart,” says Tom Johnston with Key Solutions Group. “We were looking for an outlet in the cannabis industry. We met with Matt and Sean from LLK Greenhouse Solutions and they were looking for new products to help their customers with some of their issues. That’s how the four of us got together: Robert, Matt, Sean and I sat down at the show and started talking about how to leverage LLK ‘s ninety plus years in the U.S. horticultural market to introduce a product that has been solving water pathogen and biofilm issues for forty years.”

Tom Johnston with Key Solutions, Sean O'Donnell with LLK Greenhouse Solutions and Robert Picek with Bio-Cide international - of the producer, manufacturer and distributor of the Oxine water treatment solutions.

Unique product
What made the partnership interesting was the unique nature of the product. “We’re familiar with chemistry and how effective it can be,” says Matt Connell with LLK Greenhouse Solutions. “The unique chemistry that Oxine®WT provides is different than other solutions that I have seen during my twenty-five years in the horticultural marketplace. Oxine®WT is a cost-effective solution that eliminates and prevents biofilm, disinfects surfaces, and controls pathogens in water, which are all very relevant in the horticultural industry. On top of that, it can also be used by organic growers, since it is OMRI certified organic.”

Matt continues, “When talking with customers it becomes apparent that many are continuously fighting waterborne pathogens. They try many different chemistries to deal with it, but they are not tackling the issue from the root cause. Many of our customers are battling biofilm purely from a maintenance perspective, like clogging. Our labor force have seen first-hand the negative impact of biofilm when working on irrigation lines and/or talking to customers about the additional labor and cost associated to addressing the downstream biofilm issues.”

So people look for solutions, and according to Robert, the more they look, the more likely they are to end up with Bio-Cide. “When you’ve been in the business for over 40 years you run into virtually every idea for pathogen management imaginable,” he says. “There are plenty of technologies, but we find in our business that with time it tends to be that people gravitate towards our chemistry.”

The difference treatment can make. Without Oxine®WT treatment on the left and with treatment on the right.

About Oxine®WT
Oxine®WT is an OMRI certified organic disinfectant that is preferred over typical chlorine because it is better tolerated by plants and has a superior mode of action over a wider pH range. It is proven effective against biofilm and organisms of concern such as Erwinia, Botrytis, Pythium, Fusarium, and Rhizoctonia at dosages from 0.5 ppm to 2.0 ppm. Oxine®WT does not react with organics to form chlorinated carcinogens like chlorine does so it is considered a more environmentally friendly product. It ultimately breaks down to simple table salt.

Who uses it?
All three major horticultural divisions, vegetable, flower, and cannabis, use Oxine®WT. “We started within tomato and cucumbers, and then we moved into the cannabis industry,” says Robert. “From there we developed further. We started with smaller greenhouses of around 7,000 tomato plants and now we have clients with 10 acre facilities – we cover the whole spectrum.”

Bio-Cide International have clients all over the world. “We have clients in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and we have a horticultural distributor there who has been with us from the beginning,” says Robert. “We are looking to strengthen our position in the United States, and now together with Key Solutions Group and LLK as our exclusive distributors we will be able to reach more growers and address their water treatment issues.”

For more information on Oxine®WT contact:
LLK Greenhouse Solutions
Tel: 440-236-8332
info@llklink.com
www.llklink.com