Vince Salerno using Decon7 products. He is one of the owners of ZeroRegen, a disinfecting company formed this year during the pandemic.
Vince Salerno and his son, Tim, have more than 40 years of combined experience in keeping things clean. But since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, their business focus has gone in a different direction.
Last March, the father-son Salerno team, along with John Lobosco, started ZeroRegen, a disinfecting company that uses a line of products called Decon7.
The patented decontaminate and cleaning solution neutralizes both biological and chemical contaminants.
Tim Salerno, of Lee’s Summit, says ZeroRegen is short for “zero regeneration.”
“If you eliminate the genetic material of a virus you stop viral regeneration. No regeneration, no mutation, no outbreak. That is the goal,” he says.
For years, Vince Salerno, who lives in Lake Winnebago, has worked in the laundering industry. He said the pandemic has affected Advance Linen, his laundering business. It mostly works with medical offices, restaurants and manufacturing businesses.
“That business is about 25 percent of what it was,” says Vince Salerno.
When the health crisis began, it didn’t take him long to see a need.
“As we were seeing the global pandemic start to spread, we realized that we needed to find a product that was much more effective, and, frankly, much safer than traditional sanitizing products to keep our families, friends, customers and community safe.”
Tim Salerno had worked with his father in the laundering business, but now works with Lobosco, who is principal of Alliance Transportation Services, a Kansas City company that transport and installs fitness equipment.
Having backgrounds in the medical textile laundering industry, the men knew what kind of product was needed.
“We finally found Decon7 and immediately started disinfecting everything in sight, and that is not an exaggeration,” Vince Salerno says.
“Everything in our homes, offices and vehicles. Floor to ceiling and everything in between. Given what an absolute nightmare it was to find a product that could check all of the boxes and meet all of our expectations, we decided we needed to make this product accessible to everyone.”
Advance Linen and ZeroRegen are based in Kansas City.
Vince Salerno says most of their ZeroRegen business is coming from hospitality, fitness and medical businesses. But it also has included manufacturing, yoga studios, retail stores, places of worship, daycares, schools, auto dealerships, real estate companies, delivery vehicles and residences.
“This year has definitely not been business as usual,” Vince Salerno says. “In this new life we now live in, everywhere we look there is something or somewhere that needs to be disinfected to help keep people safe from COVID-19.”
Tim Salerno doesn’t believe things will go back to normal in the business community.
“I think everyone’s business has been changed forever,” he says. “Everyone’s life for that matter. Clean environments have been a focus for a long time, and it is an ever-changing standard throughout history.
“What we are seeing right now is historic and we need to look at the current standard. What was good enough in 2019 is not good enough today. We need to reevaluate the products that we use to keep us safe. Understanding what makes a disinfectant effective is paramount right now.”