Member Article

Scented tile technology launched by Midlands partnership

A Coventry University spin-out, specialising in particle technology, has partnered with another Midlands-based business.

Exilica joined forces with Barkley Plastics and perfume business Seven Scent to make a scented floor tile, which Coventry University will pilot this week in its campus toilets.

The business, which is based on the University’s Tech Park, worked with its two partners to manufacture the product after it developed a way to give long-lasting fragrance to plastics and polymer-based materials.

The micro-particle technology was adopted by Birmingham-based Barkley Plastics to lace bathroom tiles with a fragrance and an antibacterial agent.

Exilica’s particles are small porous spheres that can take on other substances up to twice their own weight which they can then omit through a slow release mechanism which lasts for several years.

Coventry University said the particles were unique to any other technology in this area because they are able to blend into polymer-based materials without affecting the composition.

This pioneering step has the potential to revolutionise products in healthcare, cosmetics and manufacturing, according to the University.

Exilica’s technology has already gained attention from the Japanese government, and the business received an invitation to showcase its product at one of Tokyo’s nanotechnology trade fairs.

Founder and technical director for Exilica, Daniel Lynch, commented: “It’s always exciting to see a new application for our technology – even when it’s on a toilet floor.

“The reality is that the process we developed and patented at the University has massive, wide-ranging potential and we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of what we can do with it.

“Imagine a car interior which always smells new, or a plastic drinks bottle which replicates the smell of the juice inside.

“Our work with Barkley Plastics on this latest initiative has been of enormous benefit to both companies, and will hopefully help to position the Midlands as a leader in novel applications as we move into 2013.”

Mark Harwood managing director of Barkley Plastics, commented: “Collaboration of this kind between companies adds strength and new opportunities to existing or new products.

“We initially manufactured the tile tool to cover our factory floor in our own tiles with the Barkley logo, but soon visitors started enquiring about purchasing them so we rebranded it Plasfloor.

“One of these enquiries came from Exilica with the idea of a scented tile, so we started trials in our own toilets and the result was impressive.”

Exilica’s scent technology is set to be trialed for use in textiles, paint, wallpapers and car interiors by businesses in the odour masking and fragrance industries.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .