As the first round of vaccinations against the novel coronavirus gets underway, businesses and schools nationwide are making plans to safely reopen.

A key part of those efforts will involve regularly disinfecting surfaces, and Beverly Grove-based Dimer has a new product that’s ideally suited for that purpose.

Dimer’s UVHammer device cleans surfaces by using ultraviolet light, which the company says is more effective and less wasteful than traditional chemical-based cleaning methods.

Company co-founder Elliot Kreitenberg likened the UVHammer to a “vacuum of the 21st Century.”

In a promotional video released Dec. 13, Dimer says the UVHammer can thoroughly disinfect 3,000 square feet of floor area in 15 minutes.  

The device is similar to the company’s earlier product, the GermFalcon, which is specifically designed for use on airplanes. Time magazine named that device one of the 100 best inventions of 2020, and Dimer in June entered into a licensing agreement with Honeywell International Inc. to manufacture and distribute the product.

Kreitenberg, who founded Dimer in 2014 with his father, Arthur Kreitenberg, said the company’s recent success follows several years in which Dimer struggled to market its germ-killing products.

The elder Kreitenberg, an orthopedic surgeon, was familiar with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology due to its use in the health care industry, and the father-son team designed the GermFalcon to limit the spread of influenza on airplanes.

Interest from airlines was initially limited, according to Elliot Kreitenberg. “It wasn’t really an urgent need for them,” he said. “We were the only people in the world who were talking about airlines not being prepared for a pandemic.”

When international concern about the novel coronavirus began to mount in early 2020, Dimer was ready.

The company announced in January that it would make the GermFalcon available for no charge at international airports in order to disinfect airplanes coming to and from China.

Kreitenberg said he handled cleanings himself at Los Angeles International Airport before travel restrictions eliminated most flights from mainland China.

“We were wearing masks and gloves,” he said. “There was no touching involved. All we were touching was the product. We all knew that the virus was starting to percolate.”

With Honeywell having taken over production of the GermFalcon, Dimer has shifted its focus to the UVHammer, which Kreitenberg describes as a more versatile product equipped to clean a variety of spaces, from classrooms to hospitals to industrial facilities.