Bacardi ramps up hand sanitiser production

Spirits maker Bacardi has ramped up its hand sanitiser production in the fight against coronavirus.

The company hopes to produce more than 1.1 million litresof hand sanitizer, as worldwide demand continues to exceed supply in efforts to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

Eight Bacardi-owned manufacturing sites across the United States, Mexico, France, England, Italy and Scotland have now started to produce the sought-after antibacterial gel.

The news comes a week after the spirits giant announced its facility in Puerto Rico would supply alcohol to make hand sanitisers. The distillery shifted production in order to supply ethanol to the Olein Refinery in order to produce 1.7m bottles of 10-ounce hand sanitiser.

Over half a million will be donated to local communities, while free handouts to postal workers, firefighters and police and there are plans to widen this distribution.

The shift in production began on 17 March and will continue “as needed” the company said.

The company is also providing alcohol at cost to select partner companies looking to ramp up their production of hand sanitisers for commercial sale.

“Over our 158-year history, we have risen to many challenges and we are doing the same again in response to COVID-19,” said Jean-Marc Lambert, SVP of global operations for Bacardi.

“All our brands and partners involved in this initiative will help people most in need benefit from the supply of these hand sanitisers. Our goal is to make a very real difference in the fight against COVID-19.”