PRESS RELEASE
HTC Sweden AB has taken up the fight for its patented Twister cleaning method on a broad front, including against the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration in cooperation with 3M, which has plagiarised HTC’s product.
Twister is a unique cleaning system with diamond-impregnated pads for cleaning machines invented by Håkan Thysell, the founder of HTC. This method facilitates completely chemical-free cleaning, i.e. significant environmental benefits, as well as better results and lower costs, in other words this is a typical example of a Clean Tech product! By eliminating the need for both conventional cleaning pads and floor cleaning chemicals and achieving a very rapid breakthrough in an increasingly environmentally-aware market, Twister represents a threat to both 3M and the major chemical suppliers. HTC has a method patent for the use of Twister and the system is well on its way to breaking into the global market, which is shown by the fact that ISS, the global leader in cleaning, has chosen Twister and signed a global agreement with HTC.
HTC was recently one of over 600 exhibitors at the world’s largest cleaning fair in Amsterdam, ISSA Interclean. On the first day of the fair, it was discovered that a Swiss company within the diamond industry was demonstrating diamond-impregnated pads at their stand. This is simple plagiarism in the same way as 3M’s, and something which completely contravenes HTC’s patent. HTC received a rapid court decision in the Netherlands and a court order was issued on the first day of the fair, forcing the company to more or less empty its stand by removing all products and marketing material.
In Sweden, HTC is involved in a dispute with the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (LFV), among others, which has made common cause with the American multinational company 3M and is now trying to get HTC’s European patent declared invalid in order to gain access to this new interesting market. 3M has plagiarised Twister and LFV is now forcing ISS, which cleans at Arlanda Airport, to use this product despite it contravening the patent and despite the fact that ISS has Twister as its standard method and uses Twister globally. HTC has had no choice but to sue LFV for patent infringement. However, 3M has promised to pay LFV’s costs if they lose the dispute. LFV and 3M have therefore brought an action against HTC and have requested that HTC’s European patent on the Twister system be revoked. It is incomprehensible to HTC that a Swedish civil service department should opt to protect the interests of a large American company over those of a small yet innovative Swedish innovation company. The only thing they needed to do was to allow ISS to change its cleaning pads and use the Twister pads as they do in all other places. In fact, independent studies also show that Twister pads clean better than 3M’s pads. Nor would the switch have been more expensive for LFV.
The unreasonable nature of LFV’s action has been noted on newspaper Dagens Industri’s debate page by county governor Björn Eriksson and Swedish member of parliament Andreas Norlén, together with Håkan Thysell, main owner and inventor.
Contact:
Marie Ardell, Marketing Manager, HTC Sweden, Tel: +46 (0)121-29 475
Sten Jeansson, CEO, HTC Sweden, Tel: +46 (0)121- 29 400