(HAILEY, ID – JANUARY, 2015) — Rocky Mountain Hardware and HOK Product Design have joined forces to create Verdura, a new collection of antimicrobial door hardware. With an eye toward healthcare, spa and wellness centers, and even educational institutions, the designs are being hand cast using CuVerro®, a bactericidal copper from Olin Brass. While Rocky Mountain Hardware has distinguished itself over the past 20 years for designs produced in art-grade bronze, the company recently added the option of CuVerro. This new generation material is the first class of solid surfaces registered with the EPA to kill 99.9% of infectious bacteria within two hours 24/7* – its properties never washing out or wearing away. Moreover, CuVerro is highly sustainable, produced from 95% post-consumer materials including recycled copper wires and is 100% recyclable.
The venture with Rocky Mountain Hardware represents the first hardware line to be created by HOK Product Design, and it is a collection that fills a void in the healthcare world where aesthetics are sometimes sacrificed to practicality.
“We saw a need for hardware that’s sleeker, more modern and that speaks to the trend to create health and wellness interiors with a homier sensibility and that are less institutional,” said Susan Grossinger, head of HOK Product Design. “Of course, to be able to offer that in a surface that’s also antimicrobial adds even more to the appeal this will have for specifiers not only in the healthcare field, but crossing over into educational facilities, public and institutional, corporate, hospitality, aviation and any other types of projects where there are financial benefits in reducing the amount of infectious bacteria on common touch surfaces.”
Grossinger paired two uniquely qualified designers from HOK for the collaboration. From the architectural firm’s Tampa office she enlisted Beth Bernitt and from its Chicago base she recruited Mark Banholzer. Bernitt, whose father was a Dean at the University of Arizona’s College of Mines, actually had experience working in Arizona copper mines as a teen, and she was well aware of the bactericidal properties of the element. Banholzer is one of HOK’s top experts in healthcare design, a veteran of the category for nearly 30 years of his career.
In adding Rocky Mountain Hardware to the equation, HOK Product Design could not have found a better fit, according to Grossinger.
“The company’s reputation among the A+D community is stellar, and it’s a brand synonymous with quality workmanship that’s unparalleled. The fact that Rocky Mountain already had been working with the CuVerro bactericidal copper just sealed it for us.”
The initial Verdura Collection is impressive and includes a 3-x-3-inch and 3-x-9-inch escutcheon (the larger size incorporating the option of a locking function), 2 lever-style handles, and grips in a choice of 4 sizes. Three EPA registered copper alloys are being offered with a choice of finishes: Rose Bronze, Silicon Bronze and White Bronze – all with matte or brushed options.
“The opportunity to work with HOK Product Design is a game-changer for us and is helping us move the needle on expansion into the healthcare market,” said Christian Nickum, Rocky Mountain Hardware’s president. “Verdura has great promise at a time when this growing segment is clamoring for more humanizing design style and highly conscious of the technological innovations that can now add greater safety and protection.”
For more information: Eric Opple, Antimicrobial Sales Manager, antimicrobial@rockymountainhardware.com; 888-788-2013.
To help you tweet the news: HOK Product Design and @RockyMtHardware team up for Verdura, a game-changing antimicrobial hardware series for interior doors and cabinets.
About Rocky Mountain Hardware
Founded in 1994, Rocky Mountain Hardware is a leading manufacturer of bronze architectural hardware. Based in Idaho, it operates three production facilities including one of the few remaining metal foundries in America where its bronze creations are hand-cast using methods passed down by generations of artisans. The range of designs includes door and cabinet hardware, kitchen and bath accessories, tile, plumbing, lighting and more. The company also has extensive custom capabilities as well as a division dedicated to the hospitality industry. Its distribution is global through decorative hardware showrooms. Authentically “Made in the U.S.A.,” Rocky Mountain Hardware products are cast of 90% post consumer recycled materials.
About HOK Product Design
Founded in 2009, HOK Product Design®, LLC is an independent business that engages designers who use design thinking to create innovative products for the built environment. Through our project work in the corporate, healthcare, aviation + transportation, justice, science + technology, hospitality, and sports and entertainment sectors, we identify opportunities or gaps in the market and partner with manufacturers to develop new product ideas. Our firm has received prestigious awards including Best of Neocon Gold, Silver, Innovation, HIP and Editor’s Choice. Susan Grossinger is a 20-year veteran of HOK and was Director of Interiors in Los Angeles for 15 years prior to taking the Product Design leadership role.
About CuVerro
CuVerro® bactericidal solid surface is manufactured by GBC Metals, LLC, doing business as Olin Brass, a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Brass and Copper, Inc. which is a subsidiary of Global Brass and Copper Holdings, Inc., the leading manufacturer and distributor of copper, copper-alloy and bactericidal copper sheet, strip, plate, foil, rod, ingot and fabricated components in North America and one of the largest in the world. GBC Metals engages in the melting, casting, rolling, drawing, extruding and stamping of specialized copper and copper alloys finished products from scrap, cathode and other refined metals. For more information about CuVerro, please contact Kon John, Director CuVerro Market and Business Development at Kon.John@olinbrass.com, visit www.cuverro.com or call 1-877-311-2883.
*Laboratory testing shows that, when cleaned regularly, CuVerro surfaces kill greater than 99.9% of the following bacteria within 2 hours of exposure: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli O157:H7, and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE).
The use of CuVerro® bactericidal copper products is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. This surface has been shown to reduce microbial contamination, but it does not necessarily prevent cross contamination. CuVerro® is a registered trademark of GBC Metals, LLC and is used with permission (RM-0015-1410). See www.CuVerro.com for more details.