Intercon Chemical: From 'Intel Inside' to Frontline Medical Cleaning

ST. LOUIS, MO – April 02, 2026 – After four decades as a quiet force behind some of the world's leading sanitation brands, Intercon Chemical Company is stepping into the spotlight. The St. Louis-based manufacturer today announced a significant strategic expansion with the launch of Cleaner MD and Cleaner LS, two new branded product lines aimed directly at the high-stakes medical device and life sciences sectors.

This move marks a pivotal transformation for the privately held company, which has long operated as the product development and manufacturing power—the self-described "Intel inside"—for major players in the market. With Cleaner MD and Cleaner LS, Intercon is now leveraging its extensive expertise to offer its own advanced cleaning and contamination-control solutions to hospitals, surgery centers, pharmaceutical producers, and research laboratories.

A Strategic Pivot from Behind the Scenes

Founded in 1982 by entrepreneur Jim Epstein, who still helms the company as CEO and President, Intercon has built a formidable reputation in the specialty chemical industry. For 40 years, it has developed and manufactured products that are sold under the labels of other prominent global brands. This launch signals a deliberate shift from a successful OEM/ODM (Original Equipment Manufacturer/Original Design Manufacturer) model to that of a direct, front-facing brand competitor.

The company is entering a competitive and growing field. The global medical device cleaning market was valued at over $2.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to expand at a steady pace, driven by an increasing number of surgical procedures and a heightened focus on preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Intercon will now compete more directly with established industry giants like STERIS and Ecolab, betting that its legacy of innovation and promise of cost-effectiveness will carve out a significant market share.

"What we learn from working in diverse markets including disinfection, laundry, dishwashing and green cleaning helps inform our technologies for performance across all our product categories – especially the Cleaner MD and Cleaner LS lines, where standards for sterility are at their highest," said Epstein. He emphasized the company's long history, adding, "of course, what we've learned from 40 years working in the SPD departments has improved our chemistry in our other categories of business. You'd be surprised by whose national and global brand products are actually made by Intercon."

Meeting a New Mandate for Purity

The timing of Intercon's launch is no coincidence. It aligns with a critical shift in regulatory standards that is sending ripples throughout the healthcare industry. In 2023, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) published ANSI/AAMI ST108, a new, enforceable standard for water quality used in the processing of medical devices. This replaced the previous, less stringent TIR34 guidelines, creating a new mandate for sterile processing departments (SPDs) nationwide.

ST108 establishes rigorous requirements for water quality, system design, monitoring, and testing. For hospitals and surgery centers, non-compliance is not an option. Poor water quality can lead to instrument corrosion, biofilm buildup, and ineffective cleaning, which in turn increases the risk of patient infections and can result in failed audits or even a loss of accreditation. This new regulatory pressure has created an urgent need for cleaning chemistries specifically formulated to perform optimally under these strict water conditions.

Intercon's new product lines are designed to meet this exact need. "There are also new water quality standards (ST108) within the industry, so there's a lot of discussion taking place within the healthcare community about products that will work within those new standards, and our products do," said Jeff Rhodes, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Intercon. This positions Cleaner MD and Cleaner LS not just as new products, but as timely solutions to a pressing industry-wide challenge.

Tackling the Toughest Challenges in Critical Cleaning

Beyond regulatory compliance, the new brands aim to solve the daily operational hurdles faced by professionals in healthcare's most demanding environments. Sterile Processing Departments, often called "the heart of the hospital," are under constant pressure. They contend with staffing shortages, the increasing complexity of surgical instruments used in minimally invasive procedures, and immense pressure to turn over equipment quickly and safely.

Likewise, pharmaceutical manufacturing and life science laboratories operate under a different but equally intense level of scrutiny. The risk of cross-contamination from residual active ingredients or cleaning agents can compromise entire batches of drugs or invalidate years of research. These facilities require meticulous cleaning validation processes and chemistries that leave no harmful residues behind.

Intercon is positioning its new brands as a comprehensive answer to these diverse needs. "Sterile Processing Departments (SPD) for surgical instruments in hospitals and surgery centers, pharmaceutical production facilities, Life Science research and laboratory environments all demand an entirely different level of precision for sanitation and contamination control," Epstein stated. "Our goal is to give critical cleaning facilities managers the best solutions available to meet rigorous cleanliness and performance standards."

At the core of the launch is a promise of superior technology combined with sustainability and efficiency. The company claims its innovative formulations protect workers and the environment while delivering cost-effectiveness—a crucial factor for budget-conscious healthcare and research facilities.

Four Decades of Chemical Excellence Now Center Stage

Intercon's credibility in launching these high-stakes products is anchored in its long and diverse history. The company's 300,000-square-foot, EPA- and FDA-registered manufacturing facility in St. Louis's Cortex Technology zone is home to multidisciplinary teams of chemists and engineers who have spent decades honing formulations across a wide spectrum of cleaning applications.

This cross-industry expertise, from industrial dishwashing to green cleaning solutions, provides a deep well of knowledge that informs the development of its most specialized products. The lessons learned in preventing residue on glassware, for example, can be applied to ensuring medical instruments are perfectly clean. This holistic understanding of chemical performance is now being channeled directly into the Cleaner MD and Cleaner LS brands.

By stepping out from behind the curtain, Intercon is making a bold statement: that the expertise it once provided exclusively to other major brands is now available directly to the facilities that need it most. The launch represents not just a new product, but the culmination of a 40-year legacy of innovation, now ready to set a new standard in the critical fields of medical and scientific sanitation.