summary
Colleagues Carlo Centonze and Murray Height successfully turned nanotechnology into dollars and euros. HeiQ, their sportswear business, inserts silver into apparel to inhibit bacterial growth and reduce odor.
heiq’s success story
- On a mountain hike in Switzerland in 2004, Carlo Centonze and Murray Height came up with an idea to add silver into clothing to minimize odor caused by bacteria. They named their company HeiQ (pronounced hi-kew). The name is derived from the terms hike, high quality and intelligent materials.
- In 2005, HeiQ is officially registered in Switzerland and wins the Siska-Heuberger young entrepreneur’s prize (worth 100,000 Swiss francs). They begin development of their nanocomposite silver additive.
- Their first large-scale production reactor is completed in 2006, and is awarded numerous venture prizes. In addition to silver, they begin development of nanocomposite copper, zinc and titania additives.
- A mass production facility is finished in Switzerland in 2007, with nearly 40 employees and affiliates. That same year, HeiQ also partners with B. Braun (a 3.3 billion euro company) to develop antimicrobial medical devices.
- Future applications for HeiQ’s products promise a bright future for the company, as its hygienic silver can be injected into everything from paint and cosmetics to keyboards and furniture.