ATLANTA—AloStar Bank of Commerce has awarded Forest, Va.-based NanoTouch Materials with its Rising Star Award. NanoTouch will receive a one-time $5,000 micro loan to address its business goals and needs. Recipients of the Rising Star Award are referred by their current banker and carefully selected by AloStar representatives.

MIAMI—On Contact Solutions, a supplier of scientifically-based green products to the hotel industry, announced that it is now offering Cimi-Shield, a soybean extract spray that is non-toxic and that prevents bed bug infestations for one year. Cimi-Shield ensures against infestations by leaving a residual that kills the bugs that hatch after treatment, eliminating the need for retreatment for 12 months.

WEST CHICAGO, ILL.—Tornado Industries, a leading manufacturer of professional cleaning equipment, has just introduced six new products for the professional cleaning industry. These new systems are all designed to address changing needs and challenges in the industry—including the increased need for more competitively priced, high-performing, safer and more sustainable effective cleaning equipment—as well as changes in the needs and wants of facility managers and other end-customers.

HAILEY, IDAHO—Rocky Mountain Hardware, a leading manufacturer of solid bronze architectural hardware, is entering into a collaboration with Olin Brass to produce antimicrobial copper surface hardware.

While “green” cleaning in hotels is common, less is known about green carpet care. This is unfortunate because, in many facilities, carpet is the largest surface used on a daily basis, and some carpet cleaning methods have the potential to negatively impact the environment. Let’s define green carpet care to help facilitate the discussion. A working definition may be as follows: “Green carpet care involves using systems, products, and procedures to help keep carpets clean and healthy with the least impact on the cleaning worker, building users, and the environment.”

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Armchem, a leading business to business distributor of more than 50,000 specialty industrial products, and a winner of Merfin’s Growing Green Program Award, introduces a new green version of their number one product, Grout 66. The green version is a non-corrosive, non-fuming tub, tile and grout cleaner that provides top-tier performance for cleaning tubs, tile, grout, walls, toilet bowls, urinals, shower stalls and other bathroom surfaces.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes NanoTouch Materials, LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. NanoTouch antimicrobial mats, packaged in a tamper-evident pouch or a convenient travel tube, use nanotechnology to constantly kill bacteria, viruses and fungi without the use of heavy metals or diluted poisons.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—MIOX Corp., an industry leader in on-site chemical generation technology, announced it is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company. MIOX designs and manufactures equipment that generates oxidant based chemicals on demand.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. —ClearWater Tech, LLC (CWT), provider of EcoTex O3 ozone cold water laundering systems, has added two new videos to the Service and Maintenance playlist on YouTube: “Changing the Inline Particulate Filter” and “UV Ozone Lamp Replacement.”

FOREST, VA.—When a hotel offers something truly unique to first-time and repeat guests, word spreads quickly. When that offering helps keep germs from spreading, word-of-mouth goes viral in a good way. That’s what happened at the boutique Craddock Terry Hotel in Lynchburg, Va., when they started featuring a trio of NanoTouch Materials products in their guestrooms.