Plastics and chemicals giant Dow (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) typically does not produce hand sanitiser but has announced five manufacturing locations in Belgium, Brazil, Germany and the US will collectively output around 180 t, or more than 880,000 240 ml bottles, for donation to hospitals and first responders battling the Covid-19 pandemic. In Europe, BASF, Ineos and MOL are among the companies producing sanitisers – see Plasteurope.com of 27.03.2020.

The sites in Seneffe / Belgium, Hortolandia / Brazil and Stade / Germany, as well as US locations in Auburn, Michigan, and South Charleston, West Virginia, possess the necessary raw material handling, mixing and packaging capabilities to produce the hand sanitiser. Dow said a meaningful volume can be produced at the sites with little to no impact on normal operations. Production of the sanitiser is planned for around four weeks initially, with the first deliveries targeted for early April. The products will be donated to health systems and government agencies for distribution, in addition to Dow production sites to help protect employees.

Furthermore, Dow announced a commitment of USD 3m (EUR 2.76m) to help fund Covid-19 relief efforts. These include helping to distribute essential supplies such as personal protective equipment to frontline health workers, a donation to the WHO’s “Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund”, support for local and regional non-profit organisations in Dow communities across the world and communities in the recovery phase.

Dow CEO Jim Fitterling wrote on LinkedIn at the end of March, “We supply the world with materials needed for many life-critical applications: disinfectants, sanitisers, cleansers, personal protection equipment for healthcare professionals, memory foams for hospital beds, and more.” He said there is a need to “remember our long-term commitments to ALL our stakeholders.”

Dow’s Louisiana operations in Plaquemine, where benzene, ethylene and downstream polymers are produced, confirmed in mid-March that a contract worker in a light hydrocarbon (LHC) unit there had tested positive for Covid-19. The contract team was subsequently quarantined. Local media reported that several workers at the site have since tested positive for the virus. Dow had not responded to Plasteurope.com’s request for comment at press time.

Although there is a “shelter-in-place” order in effect until at least 12 April 2020 in Louisiana due to the coronavirus situation there, “essential” business can remain in operation. “Critical manufacturing” in the state includes workers that are necessary for the manufacturing of materials and products needed for medical supplies as well as chemical production, among others.

According to PIE’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net), Dow has two crackers in Plaquemine. LCH2 has an ethylene capacity of 500,000 t/y, and LHC3 has a C2 capacity of around 1m t/y.