A Mount Vernon holding company that went on a buying spree in the clean air products market has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Applied UV Inc. declared $74.7 million in assets and $14.7 million in liabilities in a Chapter 11 petition filed on May 24 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, White Plains. One of its four subsidiaries, SteriLumen Inc., declared -$9.5 million in assets and $10.3 million in liabilities in a separate petition.
“Applied has no independent operations and its only assets are the subsidiaries,” Applied UV’s CEO, Max Munn, stated in an affidavit. “Unfortunately, the subsidiaries … continue to incur losses, posing a substantial risk to Applied UV’s financial health.”
Applied UV is a public company traded on OTC Markets.
Its history can be traced back to Munn Works, a Mount Vernon fine art and mirror framing firm that Max and Laurie Munn founded in 2012.
SteriLumen was founded in 2016 and is based in Georgia.
From 2021 to 2023, Applied UV acquired several companies that make and sell surface and air disinfection products. The holding company is composed of four subsidiaries: LED Supply Co., Munn Works, PURO Lighting, and SteriLumen.
They offer brands such as Airocide, Lumicide, PUROHealth, and Scientific Air. The products are sold globally, according to Munn, in health care, hospitality, food preservation, and the cannabis and winery markets.
Munn said Applied UV’s technology aligns with clean air initiatives announced by the Biden White House in October 2022 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bankruptcy petitions apply only to Applied UV and SteriLumen.
Munn did not explain exactly why the subsidiaries have been losing money, but he stated that recent layoffs and overhead cost-cutting have not been enough to combat cash flow shortages.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane has approved a request to administer the two bankruptcy cases jointly.
Applied UV and SteriLumen have also asked the court to approve a $3.5 million bankruptcy financing loan with Pinnacle Bank. The bank has been advancing cash since 2022 to pay for goods, labor and general operating expenses, according to Munn.
“Without authorization to use Pinnacle’s cash collateral and without continued credit from Pinnacle,” the affidavit states, “operations would be forced to shut down.”
Munn said his intention is to wind down or sell portions of the business that are not profitable and to reorganize the remaining assets.
The companies are represented by Eastchester attorney Erica R. Aisner.
