Batesville’s Trinity raises $6M to further product growth
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A company in Batesville that has developed a mattress barrier for health care settings has raised $6 million in funding.
Trinity Guardion said the investment will accelerate the production and commercialization of its Soteria Bed Barrier, which is designed to reduce the risk of infections in hospitals.
Founder and CEO Bruce Rippe said the funding will help the company expand its reach and strengthen partnerships with hospitals.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Rippe said the company has seen significant growth since receiving FDA clearance for the product in 2022.
“The industry has experienced a lot of challenges, particularly since COVID, related to mattresses failing because of the disinfectants that hospitals have been forced to use to protect patients,” Rippe said. “It’s because of that process that the market has become much more sensitive to the issues of infections that can arise from from hospital beds. So the the concern over soft porous surfaces, which is what a hospital mattress, is, has been much more significant since COVID.”
That concern, Rippe said, has been the primary driver in Trinity Guardion’s growth, which has included an expansion into a new product category by making bed barriers for neonatal incubators and warmers.
The company, which was founded in 2010, says the Soteria system provides a protective layer between the hospital bed and the patient, preventing soiling and reducing infection risk while also extending the life of the mattresses.
The bed barriers are removable and can be laundered rather than just wiping down the mattress after each patient. The company said an advanced laundry process removes nearly 100% of pathogens, reducing hospital-onset infections by 50%.
“This product is domestically made, and [the funding round] also provide the funding for the the barriers to be implemented inside hospital NICUs. This is a whole turnkey process now,” Rippe said.
The funding round, which included $3.5 million in Series B funding, was led by Queen City Angels in Cincinnati, with participation from Tamiami Angel Funds in Florida, Market Street Ventures, and RKCA.
In addition to expanding manufacturing of its product in Batesville, Rippe said the funding will support the further development of its RFID technology, a software platform that helps hospitals track and manage their bed barriers to ensure they are clean and ready for use.
Rippe added that the funding will position Trinity Guardion for “very significant growth” over the next three years.
The company currently has 13 employees and recently added a small number of manufacturing and sales positions. Rippe said he hopes to add about 10 more jobs in the next year.