Ionogen goes from no sales at beginning of 2020 to $4.5 million by end of the year
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
A Knoxville-based start-up that did not make its first product sale until early 2020 has experienced phenomenal growth in the ensuing period, reaching $4.5 million in sales at the end of last year.
The company is Ionogen LLC, a household name for some who have heard of its products and an unknown for others even as it has come on fast and furious. In fact, the rapid growth has been so strong that the company is literally “busting at the seams” in its original location on Baum Drive in the Bearden area of West Knoxville and is in the process of relocating to 409 Bearden Circle.
What’s driving its hockey stick like growth that began with the first sales of February 20, 2020? It’s the international need for disinfectants that address viruses and bacteria like COVID-19 and Clostridium difficile, better known as C. diff, says John Shanahan, President and Chief Executive Officer. He’s a native of Chicago who moved to Knoxville from California two years ago after Shanahan connected with Bergein (Gene) Overholt, the well-known and well-respected Knoxville Gastroenterologist. The latter is Chair of Ionogen’s Board of Directors.
“Gene was looking for a way to kill C. diff,” Shanahan told us in a recent interview. Overholt became aware of Shanahan’s work over several decades with hypochlorous acid (HOCl), defined as nature’s oldest disinfectant. It is produced when an electrical current is applied to a solution of salt, water and vinegar.
“Think Alka Seltzer,” Shanahan says in describing the process that starts when a gentle electrical current is used to change the molecular structure of a simple saltwater solution. That process produces two of the most powerful cleaners on the planet – hypochlorous acid and potassium hydroxide. The first is the same substance the human body produces to fight germs and has all of the horsepower of bleach with none of the hazards. Potassium hydroxide is a powerful de-greaser that breaks down even the toughest grease.
“Our solutions are perfectly balanced to utilize the full force of these elements while keeping you safe and providing pure clean,” Shanahan says, adding, “It (HOCl) is a wonderful light duty disinfectant and sanitizer. It is benign to the human body, but 80 to 200 times more effective than chlorine bleach.”
We had heard about the company, but did not see its humidifier in use until we conducted an interview in December with Maribel Koella in the main conference room at the NAI Koella|RM Moore offices. The machine that was distributing a fine mist of disinfectant was very small, probably smaller than a Keurig coffeemaker. That’s an order of magnitude improvement on what was available when Shanahan first started experimenting with hypochlorous acid.
He said the machines that were used decades ago to make HOCl were large like a double-door refrigerator and could cost as much as $70,000. That made the wide deployment of the technology not very feasible. While he had an idea on how to make a much smaller and less costly machine and holds the patents to the process, “I never finished the engineering,” Shanahan says.
That changed when he connected with Overholt and, after several visits to Knoxville, moved here and formed Ionogen LLC.
“We engineer, design, and create everything locally,” Shanahan says. “Our five engineers can work in electronics, plumbing or mechanical engineering. They are masters at collaboration.”
The company manufactures the HOCl solution in varying strengths, depending on the application, as well as the handheld dispensing devices locally. The larger room applicable humidifiers are made in China for now, but will soon be made in the U.S. Here’s a link to the various products including a nasal spray.
Unlike many companies, Ionogen is both a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprise. Local customers can buy at the office or shop online. All others buy online.
Shanahan says the long-term strategy is to only be a manufacturer of the products and rely on the franchise model to grow the business.
“We are guided and pointed by science,” Shanahan says. “Our Advisory Board makes us prove what our science does.”
To that end, he notes that both the Emerald Youth Academy and Grace Christian School have been able to remain open during the pandemic by using the Ionogen products.
