Honeywell has temporarily changed its manufacturing operations at two chemical facilities to begin producing hand sanitizer for government agencies, it announced Wednesday. The shift is in response to shortages of the product due to COVID-19.
The Morris Plains-based conglomerate said its sites in Muskegon, Michigan, and Seelze, Germany, will alter their manufacturing capabilities to produce hand sanitizer over the next two months. So far, the Muskegon plant has started producing hand sanitizer that will be donated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Seelze plant has already fulfilled and delivered an emergency donation to the Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and Equality.
“As global citizens, we are honored to be able to answer the call for help in hopes of minimizing the spread of this pandemic,” Rajeev Gautam, CEO and president of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies, said.
“When called upon to help, our team rushed to transform production lines to produce hand sanitizer for areas where it is most urgently needed. I am proud to work with such innovative and dedicated employees who not only care enough to make a difference but have the spirit to make it happen.”
Honeywell has been responding to the pandemic in multiple ways, it said. Most recently, it announced a manufacturing investment to enable the production of more than 20 million N95 masks monthly from its Smithfield, Rhode Island and Phoenix, Arizona production lines.
