A Jacksonville chemical plant has shifted production to manufacture hand sanitizer it is donating to area hospitals to help battle covid-19.
Ineos Composites said it began delivering cases of 1-gallon jugs of the hand antiseptic to two Central Arkansas hospitals on Monday.
The facility at 1901 N. Redmond Road re-purposed equipment to focus on producing hand sanitizer for workers at Arkansas Children's hospital and Baptist Health.
Hand sanitizer is an important tool for front-line health care workers as they grapple with covid-19 challenges.
"It is critical that we have supply and it's a little difficult to [obtain] because of all the panic buying that's occurred," said Lisa Farmer, vice president of supply chain at Baptist Health.
The company, a $60 billion global manufacturer based in the United Kingdom, also converted part of a Pennsylvania plant to produce hand sanitizer. Both the Arkansas and Pennsylvania facilities were converted in 10 days, the company said.
"Ineos is a company with enormous resources and manufacturing skills," company Chairman Jim Ratcliffe said in a news release. "We will supply a million bottles of hand sanitizer a month from each of our new plants in Arkansas and Pennsylvania with the same again in the UK, France and Germany."
As it begins production, the Jacksonville plant was churning out 3,600 gallons a day, officials said.
In Jacksonville, Ineos typically produces ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. Raw materials for those products could be used, with new equipment added, to manufacture hand sanitizer, the company said.
"We've re-purposed stock to medical applications and we have been able to get these plants ready in under 10 days to blend and pack sanitizer to get it to front-line staff quickly where needed," spokesperson April Ludwikowski added.
Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Courtney Dunn applauded the company for its efforts.
"We are thrilled to hear that the Ineos team will be fulfilling a vital and scarce commodity," Dunn said Monday. "With all the uncertainties during the covid-19 pandemic, encouraging news like this brings a positive outlook at the future for Jacksonville businesses."
The 10-acre Jacksonville plant opened in 1973 and has about 46 employees. The London-based conglomerate operates 183 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries. The company focuses on petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil production.
Business on 05/05/2020