Manufacturing company, INEOS, has announced plans to build a new factory in the UK to produce one million hand sanitiser bottles a month
INEOS will build a UK factory for hand sanitiser within 10 days and will then replicate this in Germany.
The hand sanitisers will be produced according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) specifications and be specifically designed to kill bacteria and viruses.
INEOS is the producer of the two key raw materials needed for sanitisers – isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol. The company is already running these plants flat out and has been diverting more of this product to essential medical use.
It will now build two new factories to make hand sanitiser from them.
INEOS intends to produce both standard and the ‘pocket bottle’ hand sanitisers and is already talking to retail outlets across Europe. Supplies to NHS hospitals will be free of charge for the period of the crisis with the public being able to purchase bottles through retailers.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of INEOS, 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.”
UK coronavirus cases
More than 8,077 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK, but the actual number of cases is estimated to be much higher.
According to the latest figures, the number of deaths is now 422. More than 82,300 people in the UK have been tested for the coronavirus but were found not to have it.
In a bid to slow COVID-19’s spread, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged everyone to stay at home. In a speech on Monday (23 March), Johnson revealed0 police would be given powers to fine people deliberately breaking the new restrictions, which would last for an initial period of three weeks.
