The Canadian American Business Council selected Virox Technologies Inc. of Oakville and JohnsonDiversey Inc. of Sturtevant, Wisconsin to be awarded the 2006 Business Achievement Award for their collaboration in developing and distributing a safe and environmentally-friendly hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant.

In 2001, Virox Technologies and JohnsonDiversey formed a partnership in the ongoing fight against infectious diseases, and together have demonstrated that a disinfectant need not be toxic to be effective.

The Business Achievement Award will be presented in Toronto on Nov. 8.

Past winners include Research in Motion, Intel Corporation, Syncrude, and Caterpillar.

Virox Technologies Inc. was founded in 1998 by Randy Pilon, a graduate of Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning's Business program, after he patented a formula for a biodegradable disinfectant, Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP).

Within a few short years Virox was a major player in the industry, supplying the Ontario provincial government with $1 million worth of disinfectant to equip healthcare workers during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Virox was named for two consecutive years on Profit magazine's Hottest Startups (2002-2003) and as one of Canada's Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Profit magazine's June 2004 issue.

Randy Pilon was nominated for a Premier's Award in 2005 by Sheridan. At the time, he credited his Sheridan education for a successful start to his business career. "The Sheridan experience was great in that it gave me a jump start on my career as I entered the workplace. I felt the practical applications of knowledge were very useful and recall them to this day, especially marketing and economics," he said.

The Canadian American Business Council, established in 1987, is a non-profit, issues-oriented organization dedicated to elevating the private sector perspective on issues that affect both nations. Members include key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border, including Alcan, Amgen, Bombardier, Campbell Soup Company, Canadian National Railway, Daimler Chrysler, Royal Bank of Canada and UPS.