An Invercargill company has designed and made a sanitising tunnel that continuously disinfects cartons as they leave or arrive at a workplace, which is being seen as a tool to help against the spread of COVID-19.

Dyno Conveyors Invercargill general manager Reuben Cornes said they were asked by an existing client, a pharmaceutical company, if they could make some sort of sanitising tunnel for parcels arriving at their workplace, to minimise the risk of spreading COVID-19.

“As it fitted in with our product range and core value of care, we got straight onto it. We felt responsible to respond, be innovative and help New Zealand fight the COVID-19 virus and save lives.”

“Our vision is to improve the standard of life in New Zealand and we believe our sanitising tunnels will help us fight the virus and enable companies to bounce back and get the wheels of our economy turning again,” Mr Cornes said.

The sanitising tunnel was designed and built – from initial concept prototype, to a full working production version – in just two weeks.

“The sanitising tunnel has been highly successful and worked well in all our tests. The tunnel has a broad range of appeal, we see it fitting into warehouses, hospitals, airport security, couriers, supermarkets, seven-day dairies and all businesses sanitising goods coming and going to consumers, as well as protecting their staff. It can also be modified to suit other pest or virus control needs also,” Mr Cornes said.

There has been a lot of interest in the tunnel, however as it is so new, the company needs to build awareness both internationally and nationally.

“We ship our products worldwide including Australia and currently have partners in the United Kingdom, North America and Argentina. We know our tunnel is a very important way of stopping and limiting potential spread of the virus, so we think the market appeal is huge. We have tried to keep costs as low as possible to make it affordable,” he said. 

The sanitising tunnel can be completely manufactured in the Invercargill factory, depending on demand and customer location. It may be manufactured at other sites under licence in future.  

Its function draws on skills honed 35 years ago in Hastings by the company’s founder, Trevor Cornes, who first specialised in pest fogging. He sold the business in Hastings and took his company to Invercargill 10 years later.

While the head office of Dyno Conveyors is based in Invercargill, it also has offices in Ashburton and Auckland.

“Trevor is a highly skilled engineer by trade and Dyno fits into his skill set perfectly. He is still active in prototyping and project installations,” Reuben Cornes said.

Dyno designs, manufactures, and installs conveyors systems specifically for warehousing of all types. It also supplies parts and components for its conveyors. The Invercargill office has a staff of seven.

View a video of the sanitising tunnel below.