INEOS thrives on making decisions quickly. But one made in March, to tackle the critical shortage of hand sanitiser to hospitals and the NHS in the UK, has led to the birth of another INEOS business – INEOS Hygienics
AFTER supplying millions of bottles to thousands of hospitals free of charge through the spring and summer, INEOS is shifting its focus. As economies try to get back on track, businesses try to reopen and people try to get back to normal, INEOS is to supply its new hospital grade hand sanitiser product range to the public through Amazon, supermarkets, pharmacies and shops.
It is the first time in the company’s history that INEOS has sold its products directly to the public. It’s a crowded marketplace already but INEOS Hygienics is confident it can make an impact with its no-frills, high purity hand sanitisers, sanitiser wipes, and sprays.
“There will be many people outside the industry who have never heard of us so that will be a challenge,” said chief operating officer George Ratcliffe.
“But INEOS does not want its packaging to be fluffy. It essentially says ‘we are here to do a job and we will do it’.”
INEOS says its hand sanitisers and sanitiser wipes are superior because they contain 75% high purity, hospital-grade synthetic ethanol – a proven and effective virus-killer. “We are making hand sanitiser because INEOS is the world’s largest producer of high purity synthetic ethanol which adheres to EU pharmacopeia standards,” he said.
INEOS manufactures Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), the other active ingredient commonly used in sanitiser products. INEOS’ aim is to build a brand that the public trusts and associates with quality. For the past 20 years, INEOS has supplied the products to manufacturers for materials that are used to make everything from iPads, to pharmaceuticals, to cars to clothing.
But few have perhaps been unaware of INEOS’ role in the manufacturing process. COVID-19, however, changed that and highlighted the chemical industry’s vital role in helping the world to defeat this unseen enemy.
As the distress call went out to industry to help slow the spread of COVID-19, INEOS responded by ramping up production to meet the unprecedented global demand for chemicals at its sites.
It built six new manufacturing plants – one in the UK, two in France, one in Germany and two in the USA – each taking under 10 days to build from scratch to help tackle the global shortage of hand sanitiser.
Each plant was designed to produce one million bottles of hand sanitiser every month – and all of it was being delivered free to hospitals where it was needed the most. The majority were 50ml bottles which nurses and doctors could keep in their pockets.
In all, INEOS gave away millions of bottles of hand sanitiser to thousands of hospitals in the UK, Germany and France and the USA – all produced to World Health Organisation specifications.
One of two French plants has increased capacity and all production has moved from the Lavera sanitiser plant to Etain.
“At the time we established the Lavera plant, France had a huge problem with COVID-19 and especially in the South,” said George. “It was one of the hotspots.”
The plant was set up solely to manufacture hand sanitiser on an industrial scale for two months for hospitals. “It was a charitable effort by INEOS because we had the resources,” said George. In the US, INEOS Hygienics worked with Healthcare Ready to identify the American hot-spot hospitals that had the greatest need.
“What was incredible about this donation was that it was not just a stop-gap or short-term solution,” said Programme Director Sarah Baker.
“INEOS set them up permanently, which meant they weren’t worried about where the next round of hand sanitiser was going to come from when they showed up for work.”
George said the beauty about the new business was that it meant people in Europe could now rely on a secure supply from the UK, Germany or France to meet their needs rather than China or Turkey.
“COVID-19 has made everyone more aware of the importance of hygiene and the need for effective sanitising products,” he said. “INEOS Hygienics is determined to ensure our products are available to meet the increased demand around the world.”
for more information visit:
www.ineoshygienics.com
‘We will supply hospital-grade sanitiser products to the public. We can make the best quality wipes, sprays and hand sanitiser because INEOS manufactures 100% of the pharmaceutical grade ethanol in Europe’ – George Ratcliffe, Chief Operating Officer
