GymGuard News
CleanZine article - 22nd Oct 2009
An innovative new product which is set to revolutionise the way gyms and fitness centres fight bacteria has been launched by a Welsh company. GymGuard has been designed to reduce cross-contamination and infection of both gym users and fitness staff and is believed to be the first product of its kind targeted at the leisure industry in the UK.
The product was originally formulated for use by aviation giants Boeing to clean and sanitise the high use cabin fixtures and fittings on board passenger jets. It has now been adapted by water treatment and protection experts Garod Thomas and Steve Bosher to protect gym equipment and its users from the spread of 99.999% of all known germs, and has been formulated to be effective against swine flu and the community-acquired MRSA superbug which has been contracted by over 100 men and women in gyms and sports centres across the UK in recent years.
The business partners, who have more than 20 years' experience working in the water treatment and pharmaceutical industries, now run the successful South Wales based water filtration and testing company Intelligent Water Solutions, which has its headquarters in Port Talbot.
GymGuard is pumped onto a towel or piece of blue roll from a wall dispenser in the gym and wiped over the surface of equipment before and after use, and can also be used as a skin sanitiser as it is harmless when in contact with human skin. It then coats the surface of the equipment to neutralise all bacteria present and also provides a barrier to the spread of germs and bacteria in the gym which lasts for days unlike many traditional sanitisers which stop fighting bacteria as soon as they dry.
The non-toxic, non-hazardous, polymer-based product offers unrivalled protection for gym users – killing a huge range of microbes, bacteria, fungi and mould while reducing cross contamination and infection between gym users.
Due to its hydrophobic properties, GymGuard forces itself into hard to reach bacteria breeding areas – like the stitching on exercise bike seats – and then breaks down the developing bacteria. The product then forms a protective film excluding further bacteria from settling.
Following a comprehensive test period in gyms across South Wales, where the partners received rave responses from both gym users and staff, the product has been launched for use in gyms across the UK.
“The response that we have had from both gym staff and users has been excellent and as people have started using the product they have questioned why something like this wasn’t available before," says Garod Thomas.
“Not only does GymGuard create a more pleasant training environment and an all-in-one cleaning solution for all gym surfaces, but regular application will ensure that an anti-bacterial coating protects all surfaces in the gym resulting in the vast reduction of potential cross contamination and infections between people present in the gym.
“Gyms are clean places, but due to the number of people exercising in a small, warm area, sharing equipment means that naturally bacteria will spread.
“Gym users are more educated now than ever before on how to train well and how to look after themselves, and from the testing that we have done GymGuard has become a valuable extension of their care and education while working out.”
The CleanZine Online - to visit click here
GymGuard is now a member of the Fitness Industry Association - 19th Oct 2009
GymGuard are please to announce that we are now a full member of the Fitness Industry Association.
The FIA represents an industry which comprises over 5,700 sites nationwide and is staffed by over 200,000 people. Almost 90% of the population live or work within two miles of a facility – which probably explains why over 1 million consumers walk through our doors every day.
The FIA’s mission is to continually raise standards, promote and represent the health and fitness industry in the pursuit of a more physically active and healthier nation.
As members we comply with the FIA code of practice:
The Code is designed to ensure that health and fitness operators maintain a basic level of practice to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their customers.
By complying with the standards of the Code we can raise the level of operation throughout all FIA facilities and create a symbol of quality that the exercising public will look for before joining a fitness club or centre.
The Code will be externally audited by Central YMCA Qualifications (CYQ), an established awarding body, with Government approval via the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Drawing on its specialist knowledge of the industry, CYQ is ideally placed to be the assessor of the FIA Code of Practice.
Compliance with the Code communicates our commitment to standards, quality and customer welfare. It is an important statement to Government and other regulatory bodies that the health and fitness sector is a professional industry that takes its operation and duty of care seriously.
To visit the FIA website - click here
Western Mail Business Section - 14th Oct 2009
Coverage of GymGuard in the Wester Mail Business Section
South Wales Evening Post Business Section Coverage - 13th Oct 2009
Coverage of GymGuard in the South Wales Evening Post Business Section
GymGuard enjoys a successful launch at LIW - 25th Sept 2009
GymGuard enjoyed a busy 3 days at LIW earlier this week. Interest was high and feedback extremely positive. Comments like:
"Why hasn't this been available before?"
"This is such a good idea and so current"
"This is exactly what we've been looking for during the Swine Flu pandemic"
We now look forward to rolling the GymGuard Total Gym Hygiene Solution out across the UK
A picture of the GymGuard stand at LIW
To visit the LIW website - click here
GymGuard Official Launch at Leisure Industry Week 2009 - 22nd-24th Sept 2009
Launch press release for GymGuard at LIW 2009
Aviation technology introduced to fight bacteria in gyms
An innovative new product which is set to revolutionise the way gyms and fitness centres fight bacteria has been launched by a Welsh company.
GymGuard has been designed to reduce cross-contamination and infection of both gym users and fitness staff and is the first product of its kind targeted at the leisure industry in the UK.
The product was originally formulated for use by aviation giants Boeing to clean and sanitise the high use cabin fixtures and fittings on board passenger jets.
It has now been adapted by water treatment and protection experts Garod Thomas and Steve Bosher to protect gym equipment and its users from the spread of 99.999% of all known germs, and has been formulated to be effective against Swine Flu and the community-acquired MRSA superbug which has been contracted by over 100 men and women in gyms and sports centres across the UK in recent years.
The business partners, who have more than 20 years experience working in the water treatment and pharmaceutical industries, now run the successful South Wales based water filtration and testing company Intelligent Water Solutions, which has its headquarters in Port Talbot.
GymGuard is pumped on to a towel or piece of blue roll from a wall dispenser in the gym and wiped over the surface of equipment before and after use, and can also be used as a skin sanitizer as it is harmless when in contact with human skin.
It then coats the surface of the equipment to neutralise all bacteria present and also provides a barrier to the spread of germs and bacteria in the gym which lasts for days unlike traditional sanitizers which stop fighting bacteria as soon as they dry.
The non-toxic, non-hazardous, polymer based product offers unrivalled protection for gym users – killing a huge range of microbes, bacteria, fungi and mould while reducing cross contamination and infection between gym users.
Due to its hydrophobic properties, GymGuard forces itself into hard to reach bacteria breeding areas – like the stitching on exercise bike seats – and then breaks down the developing bacteria. The product then forms a protective film excluding further bacteria from settling.
Following a comprehensive test period in gyms across South Wales, where the partners received rave responses from both gym users and staff, GymGuard has been launched for use in gyms across the UK.
GymGuard’s Garod Thomas said: “The response that we have had from both gym staff and users has been excellent and as people have started using the product they have questioned why something like this wasn’t available before.
“Not only does GymGuard create a more pleasant training environment and an all-in-one cleaning solution for all gym surfaces, but regular application will ensure that an anti-bacterial coating protects all surfaces in the gym resulting in the vast reduction of potential cross contamination and infections between people present in the gym.
“Gyms are clean places, but due to the number of people exercising in a small, warm area, sharing equipment means that naturally bacteria will spread.
“Gym users are more educated now than ever before on how to train well and how to look after themselves, and from the testing that we have done GymGuard has become a valuable extension of their care and education while working out.”
To visit the LIW website - click here
Healthcare Jobs Article - 21st Sept 2009
Polymer Spray Shields Gyms From Bacteria
An innovative polymer-based spray to fight bacteria in gyms and fitness centres has been launched by a Port Talbot company.
GymGuard, the first infection control product to be targeted at the UK leisure industry, kills almost all germs and reduces the infection and cross-contamination risks to gym users. It is effective against swine flu and MRSA.
Following a successful test period in gyms across South Wales, GymGuard has been launched for use across the UK.
The product was first developed by Boeing to clean and sanitise the cabin fixtures and fittings on passenger jets. It has been adapted by water treatment and protection experts Garod Thomas and Steve Bosher to protect users of gym equipment.
The spray can be pumped onto a towel or tissue from a dispenser and wiped over gym equipment. It coats the surface, neutralising bacteria and blocking the spread of germs. It lasts for days – unlike traditional sanitisers, which stop working when they dry. Being non-toxic, it can also be used to sanitise skin.
GymGuard’s Garod Thomas said: “The response that we have had from both gym staff and users has been excellent. Not only does GymGuard create a more pleasant training environment and an all-in-one cleaning solution for all gym surfaces, but regular application will ensure that an anti-bacterial coating protects all surfaces in the gym, resulting in the vast reduction of potential cross- contamination and infections.”
To visit Health Care Jobs Online - click here
GymGuard announced as official supplier to Team Wales 2010 - 18th Sept 2009
Dear GymGuard
The Commonwealth Games Council of Wales is the organisation responsible for selecting and taking the Welsh team to the Commonwealth Games. Team Wales will be competing in Delhi in October 2010. Approximately 250 team members will travel to India and compete in up to 17 sports including athletics, boxing, badminton, cycling, gymnastics, rugby sevens and swimming.
In recent months the chef de mission and general team manager for Team Wales have been to Delhi on site visits. During their stay in Delhi they took with them a selection of Gymguard products to protect them from infections. Both returned home well while other countries’ delegations who visited Delhi and the same time were not so lucky.
Therefore, Team Wales will be using the Gymguard range of products to protect athletes while they are in Delhi in 2010. Further, we will be using Gymguard products to clean the Medical and Physiotherapy areas. The use of these products will help athletes stay at peak condition and so enabling them to compete to the best of their abilities.
Yours sincerely
Chris Jenkins
Director CGCW
Chef de Mission Team Wales Delhi 2010
To visit the Team Wales 2010 website - click here
GymGuard Achieves Swine Flu Accrediation - Aug 2009
During our launch preparations the consituent product in GymGuard gained its Swine Flu certification (Modified EN 14476 Human Influenza A Virus (H1N1)).
