Interview with Marcell Engel, Managing Director

How is the company developing? Please name key points?

"The founding story began in the mid-1990s with a rather unusual order: the special cleaning of a car in which a suicide had been committed. This made it really clear to me what challenges such difficult cleanings pose. As a result, special cleaning of all kinds has gradually developed into one of our core competencies.

Akut SOS Clean has been involved in national and international crisis intervention measures since 2003/2004. A branch was opened in Austria in 2010 and in Switzerland in 2011. We have been carrying out disinfection and decontamination of various environmentally harmful substances abroad, especially in neighboring countries, since 2008. Our areas of activity also include crime scene cleaning and cleaning after corpses have been found. The company has grown healthily in all areas and various – some very large – projects were launched in 2019 and 2020.

Unpredictably, the coronavirus pandemic broke out in February 2020, which of course had a significant impact on our company, specifically our order situation. We are currently mainly working on behalf of corona disinfections.”

What does this mean in detail?

"We are 100 percent deployed on behalf of disinfecting coronaviruses. Be it actually proven cases or even suspected cases. We are currently disinfecting aircraft - a wide variety of mass transport - as well as quarantine camps, public buildings, offices, restaurants, fitness studios, senior citizens' facilities and kindergartens. Ultimately, all areas of public life, primarily of course those that are currently open or are now essential for everyday life. This includes the mass transport mentioned above, but also taxis Yes, we still often have to bring sick people for their treatments during these times and we have to take the utmost care with regard to disinfection. The range of our clientele is large, to such an extent that we can hardly meet the demands from the private sector.

If we ignore the current challenging situation: Which service is most frequently requested or needed in “normal” times?

"It is regularly reported in the media and we have been observing it for a long time: pest control measures are increasing rapidly. There has been an enormous increase here. In the last two years in particular, we have been used frequently, nationwide. The causes can be seen in the shift in climate zones, which is progressing inexorably. This of course has an impact on animals and plants that follow the climate zones. This in turn leads to the emergence of an increasing number of new pest species and thus new pathogens."

How does the significantly increased number of pests generally come about?

"In my opinion, as I said, this is due to global warming. Specifically: Humanity is increasingly influencing the climate and temperature on Earth through the use of fossil fuels, deforestation of rainforests and livestock farming. This increases the amount of greenhouse gases naturally occurring in the atmosphere enormously, and this increases the greenhouse effect and global warming. This means that the harmful insects thrive better and, incidentally, pose a high risk, especially for agriculture."

Does this make it necessary to develop new processes and new products in the disinfection and special cleaning segments?

"Yes, definitely. It's not just the increased number of pests that makes new developments necessary. In general, globalization and the massive exchange of goods require new processes and products that can cope with these new challenges. However, we have noticed this since the company was founded. For this reason, we are also increasingly committed to the areas of research and science. We began developing special products and devices in cooperation with experts 15 years ago and are continually working on their innovative further development."

A look into the future: Do you expect increased developments towards epidemics or even pandemics?

"The way we humans live here on planet Earth, collapse is inevitable. I'll just mention the important keywords here, such as environmental pollution, exploitation of the resources of animals and plants, for example in food production. In my opinion, this will take its toll. Let's take a look at the development in hospitals. So many disinfectants are used there that the multi-resistant germ has found its way in, which poses an enormous threat, especially for sick and immunocompromised people, and means death for many every year.

I also suspect that epidemics and pandemics are increasing. Unfortunately, we are seeing it in the current situation: The coronavirus pandemic is caused by a so-called zoonosis, which means that the pathogen has spread from an animal to humans. I fear such incidents will become more common in the future.”

How can this be countered preventively in the future?

"It starts with each individual. The most important thing in all is hygiene measures, right from childhood onwards. Regular and thorough hand washing and drying should be a matter of course. The practice of "sneezing into the crook of your arm" learned from the coronavirus can be maintained. It's a small, permanent change, but it has a big impact.

I think strengthening the immune system is very important. For example, make sure you eat consciously. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, preferably pesticide-free, ideally even from your own garden.

Otherwise, I find that your inner attitude has a big influence on your health. In short: If you think positively, you will experience positive things - that is one of my life maxims. Otherwise, as I said, pay attention to good hygiene, eat a healthy and balanced diet and - don't forget - exercise and relax. This lays a healthy foundation.”