By Andrew McIntosh – Staff Writer, Puget Sound Business Journal

Oct 13, 2020

Just after the Labor Day weekend, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen paid an announced visit to the modest Everett offices and warehouse complex of Waypoint Aeronautical at Paine Field. Larsen went to visit CEO Bob Olson and get a closer look at the aerospace company’s work to design, develop and manufacture an ultraviolet (UV) light system to disinfect not only airplanes, but also trains and school buses.

Larsen’s interested in Olson’s work because he and another lawmaker have introduced legislation aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19 during air travel to ensure the safety – and restore public confidence – of passengers and aviation workers.

“We feel the UV light sanitizing technology is the best way to give the traveler the confidence and comfort to get back into the airplane,” Olson told the Business Journal during a recent socially distanced visit to Waypoint to discuss the company’s efforts, origins, the very big competition it faces and what’s next as it works to get its product certified by aviation safety regulators to allow sales.

How did Waypoint get into this area? Waypoint was originally formed, well before Covid, to do quick retrofits of older Boeing 737 jets with new LED lighting systems installed in the cabins. We have also designed an aerial spray system to help control oil spills for the U.K. Coast Guard as part of a five-year program. I became interested in airplane cabin disinfection and sanitization because it seemed like every flu season, I’d get on an airplane, and I’d get the flu. We thought there had to be something we could do.

What is your system and how does it work? Our system is two-part combination system involving lights to sanitize the cabin of bacteria and germs and also disable Covid-19 if it is present.

Explain that. We’re using two lighting systems. The first is a 405-nanometer blue light to kill airborne bacteria, germs and some viruses (transmitted) by breathing, coughing and sneezing. It’s used in hospital rooms very effectively and reduces infections by about 70%. That light can stay on safely all the time while passengers are traveling and work. We’re also using a second system, a 280 UVc light. That one operates only when passengers are not present because it’s dangerous to the eyes and skin. It disables the DNA of viruses like Covid, neutralizing them. We’ve measured the distances between lights and all areas of the seats and handrails and are making sure that the light does not degrade seating materials. We’re hearing complaints from parents about the chemicals being used to fog and disinfect buses. Our UV light system is a clean, green way of disabling viruses.

Is it hard to sell people on the abilities of devices whose work they can’t see? Yes, it’s like selling the Golden Gate Bridge. You’re selling something you can’t see to kill something deadly you also can’t see.

Are you doing this alone? We’re working with Hubbel, the giant lighting company. They loaned us a few of their top scientists for a few months. We’ve set this up to be a long-term product. This thing will clean and sanitize planes, trains, trucks, buses and eliminate whatever comes down the next pathway at us in the future in zoonotic diseases, which are pathogens and infections that jump from animals to humans.

Do you have any potential clients? We have proposals out to several airlines, Sound Transit, as well as several school bus companies and school districts. We’re also talking with several of the large companies that operate fleets of big trucks. They all say they want to do it, but don’t have any money during the pandemic. So, we’re trying to help customers get government money.

How have you stayed afloat during the aviation crisis? We won a $200,000 grant from the Snohomish County First in Flight Fund, which aims to assist tenants like us at Paine Field airport sustain aerospace businesses and operations and keep local residents employed, to support the county’s overall recovery efforts.

What’s next? We’re working to obtain certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to deploy the systems. It may take months or up to a year. We’re halfway through the process and are hoping to be certified by the end of the year. The FAA has put this technology on its priority list because it’s a safety issue.

Both Boeing and Honeywell Aerospace are already making and commercializing competing UV light products. What makes yours better and how will you compete? Our system will work 24/7, and it involves the delivery of carefully measured light that is turned on with a flip of the switch, with the doors closed. It requires no manpower. Because of that, our system is cheaper.

What’s something about you that people would be surprised to know? I delivered the first Boeing 757 jetliner to Shanghai Airlines in China in 1989. That was the same year as the protests and deaths in Tiananmen Square.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.