INEOS Aims to Build Hand Sanitizer Plants in 10 DaysINEOS Aims to Build Hand Sanitizer Plants in 10 Days

March 27, 2020

4 Min Read
INEOS Aims to Build Hand Sanitizer Plants in 10 Days
INEOS intends to build two new plants for hand sanitizer within 10 days. Image courtesy of INEOS

Chemical manufacturing firm INEOS revealed plans this week to construct a new two new production facilities for hand sanitizer in Europe within 10 days in response to a shortage of the product that was created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Once operational, the facilities will each produce 1 million bottles of hand sanitizers per month. 

The company is one of the biggest European producers of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol, which are used as raw materials in hand sanitizers. One hand sanitizer production facility will be built in the UK and another will go up in Germany. 

“It is becoming increasingly clear that hand to mouth infection is a significant cause of the Coronavirus contagion and INEOS is Europe’s largest manufacturer of the core ingredient of hand sanitizer,” the company’s founder and chairman, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, said in a release. “We will build two factories in the UK and Germany in 10 days to produce very substantial supplies.”

The plants will manufacture standard and “pocket bottle” sized hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizers made at the newly built sites will be given to hospitals for free during the pandemic, and INEOS will also supply supermarkets, pharmacies, schools, and workplaces for sales to the public. The company said it is currently in talks with European retailers. 

Also this week, Powder & Bulk Solids reported that Dow is shifting some of its production processes to start producing hand sanitizer at a US facility and a plant in Germany. American agribusiness Cargill recently donated 60,000 liters of disinfecting alcohol to the Dutch government.

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