Manufacturer of wine and spirits, Distell, says they will not stop producing hand sanitizers as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic reaches its highest peaks.
Amid coronavirus, the distillery has produced and bottled over 165 000 litres of hand sanitizers. Of that number, 105 000 have been distributed to vulnerable communities across the country.
Distell has however mentioned that three of its plants in the Western Cape are being used to manufacture, bottle and distribute the sanitizer.
Richard Rushton, CEO at Distell told News 24 that the company decided to step in and help as the country went into lockdown. He also spoke of the process of producing the sanitizers.
Spirits that are normally used for its classic whiskey are brought in from the Wellington plant to the Paarl site. It is then blended with glycerine, water and hydrogen peroxide to create 70% alcohol hand sanitizer. The mixture is pumped into plastic drums and sent to the Parow plant were the sanitizer is bottled.
“Our initial objective was to supply the government, particularly for needy communities. We are also now supplying the national health department with 72 000 litres, as they use it in a civic environment,” he said.
“We supported the initial decision by the government but we don’t support where we find ourselves now. We believe the right approach now is to responsibly open up retail sales and allow consumers to buy in responsible quantities,” Rushton said.
“At the forefront is the health and well-being of our employees. With each week passing, it becomes much more challenging, so we need to get the economy working,” he added
