Honeywell Starts to Make Sanitizer at 2 Chemical Plants

Industrial solutions firm Honeywell has started to produce hand sanitizer at two of its chemical manufacturing plants on a temporary basis to help meet supply shortfalls of the product during the COVID-19 crisis.

Operations at Honeywell’s in Muskegon, MI and Seelze, Germany will be shifted to hand sanitizer production over the next two months, the company said in a press release Wednesday. The sites are part of the firm’s Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) business group. 

“As global citizens, we are honored to be able to answer the call for help in hopes of minimizing the spread of this pandemic,” Rajeev Gautam, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell’s PMT group, said in a statement. “When called upon to help, our team rushed to transform production lines to produce hand sanitizer for areas where it is most urgently needed.”

The Muskegon facility ordinarily manufactures high-purity solvents and blends used in pharmaceutical testing, precision cleaning, and other laboratory applications. Hand sanitizer produced at the US site will be donated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Honeywell’s plant in Seelze produces a wide range of products, including inorganic fine chemicals, electronic chemicals, and high-purity solutions used in laboratory research and testing. The company donated hand sanitizer made at the site to the Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs, and Equality. 

In addition to hand sanitizer, the company also recently commenced production of N95 respirators on new production lines in Smithfield, RI and Phoenix, AZ. 

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