Success Story by North Dakota Small Business Development Centers
Article by North Dakota Small Business Development Centers https://ndsbdc.org/
FARGO, ND — As the coronavirus has swept across the United States, small businesses from all over have been thrown off their feet. Owners are desperately trying to figure out how to break even, how to keep the lights on, and most importantly how to keep their employees and customers safe and healthy. It was in the midst of a global pandemic that a lightbulb went off within Joel Jorgenson’s head.
Blue Water Resolute (BWR) Innovations has been providing innovative products using fuel cell technology and telemetry designs since 2018. Like all business, BWR Innovations was affected by the widespread stay-at-home orders that were implemented across communities. Jorgenson, President and CEO of BWR Innovations, decided to turn this time of crisis into an opportunity. Before the coronavirus pandemic, BWR Innovations’ main focus was bringing products to the market for the food service, transportation, health care, and hospitality industries. But once the crisis hit, Jorgenson knew he had to make some changes in order to adapt to the new market. It wasn’t long after COVID-19 hit, that he presented his fully developed, proven, and chemical-free way of decontaminating spaces from the COVID-19 pathogen through the use of fuel-cell technology and UV light.
In the early stages of the pandemic, BWR Innovations reached out to the North Dakota Small Business Development Centers for assistance in securing funding to help counter the negative impacts that the coronavirus was taking on their business. ND SBDC Fargo Center Director, Paul Smith, was able to answer questions regarding the SBA loan application process and assist the company in securing more than $120,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs, which helped the business leverage and apply its advanced technology to new markets. Jorgenson said, “The loans provided BWR Innovations with a lifeline and time to modify their preexisting fuel cell generators for other uses. Paul Smith and the SBDC are amazing partners.”
Ultimately, BWR Innovations’ discreet and flexible mobile fuel cell generators are intended to ‘Decontaminate Against Infections/Insects, Specifically for You’ (DAISY). The DAISY process provides a clean, safe, quick, and cost-effective way for small or larger companies to eliminate any COVID-19 pathogens within their place of business, which ultimately keeps their employees and customers both safe and healthy. According to BWR, these mobile units can be adjusted to create increased heat levels that will sanitize any room that has been contaminated by the COVID-19 virus, all within 60-90 minutes.
“BWR Innovations has developed a novel approach to sanitize facilities and equipment,” Jorgenson exclaimed. Hotel rooms, bank lobbies, restaurants, conference rooms and offices can all use the DAISY process to kill off pests, influenza, and the coronavirus. A pilot program has just started in Las Vegas to provide DAISY fresh rooms to hotel guests from around the world.
With everyday lives forever changed because of COVID-19, it’s safe to say the future of BWR’s mobile fuel cell generators is bright. Confident in his product, Jorgenson and his team plan to keep pushing and delivering their products across multiple industries. According to Jorgenson, “The partnership with SBA was the perfect answer for BWR, and demonstrates the success of innovative programs for small American businesses.”
