Hydro-Photon, the Maine-based maker of handheld devices that use ultraviolet light to purify water, has raised just shy of $2 million in equity, according to an SEC filing. This will put more capital behind the firm’s product, called the “SteriPEN,” which looks like the hunting knife version of a lightsaber.
But this handheld device is designed the kill bacteria, viruses, and parasites in water, using ultraviolet light to destroy the DNA of such invaders in the water supply, according to the firm’s website. Miles Maiden, founder of Hydro-Photon, invented the firm’s main product more than a decade ago and began selling the devices through outdoor gear retailer REI in 1999. The firm says it has tripled in size since 2004, but Maiden wasn’t available at his office when I called for more details this morning.
The names of the firm’s investors are not listed in the SEC filing, but the company does appear to have some experienced executives on its staff and board of directors. Ed Volkwein, the company’s president, is a former senior executive in the consumer electronics division of Royal Philips Electronics and the video game company Sega, according to his profile on zoominfo. Richard Gurin, a director of Hydro-Photon, is a consumer products industry veteran and former CEO of Crayola, the Easton, PA-based maker of crayons and other creative products.
