Ineos to build hand sanitizer plant in 10 days

CHEMICALS giant ineos has joined the battle against the coronavirus with a new hand sanitizer factory.

The British firm will help address shortages of sanitizer by building a plant near Middlesbrough in just ten days, which will then pump out 1m bottles per month.

Its move comes as manufacturers and businesses overhaul production and divert resources to tackle shortages of cleaning products and equipment such as ventilators in hospitals.

Other firms turning their hands to producing sanitizer include aberdeenshire beer company Brew Dog and the British Honey Company, which have repurposed their plants.

Manufacturers have also answered the Government’s call to produce emergency ventilators for the NHS, with car makers, engineers and medical equipment firms aiming to crank out 5,000 of the devices in the next fortnight.

Airbus, GKN, Siemens, Smiths Group, Mclaren and Penlon are among those helping with the effort.

and Burnley-based lancashire Textiles, which usually makes duvets, pillows and mattresses, is among firms that have switched some production to making face masks.

Foreign firms to have done this include fashion brands Prada, Gucci and Zara.

Professor Stephen Roper, of Warwick Business School, said the changes taking place in many sectors because of the pandemic are reminiscent of the Second World War, when manufacturers were ordered by the Government to switch production to planes and tanks. He added: ‘in many cases, what we are seeing is firms adapting as part of survival strategies.’

ineos said it would provide its sanitizer to hospitals for free. it is Europe’s largest producer of the key ingredients needed – isopropyl alcohol and ethanol – at factories in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, and northern Germany.

The company said it expects to build a similar sanitizer factory in Germany after the UK one is completed.

it will produce the cleaning gel for personal use as well and supply it to schools, workplaces, pharmacies and supermarkets.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (pictured), ineos’s billionaire founder, said: ‘ineos is a company with enormous resources and manufacturing skills. ‘if we can find other ways to help in the coronavirus battle, we are absolutely committed to playing our part.’

Mark Swift, a spokesman for industry group Make UK, said firms were also looking at plans to produce hospital beds and oxygen generators.