A company best known for its cocoa butter and coconut oil skin and hair products is revamping to produce medical-grade hand sanitizer for medical responders and the U.S. Military.
E.T. Browne Drug Co. announced Monday that its manufacturing facility, Hayward Laboratories, has started producing medical-grade hand sanitizer for immediate distribution. The family-owned company’s corporate headquarters is in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and its manufacturing plant is in East Stroudsburg, Monroe County.
The company said its goal in producing the sanitizer is to help address widespread supply shortages in the wake of COVID-19. Initial production of the disinfectant sanitizer will supply local medical first responders and U.S. Military personnel, the company said.
Nearly 300 Hayward employees are leading the effort, which required the East Stroudsburg site to the mobilize its supply chain within weeks. The company plans to donate sanitizers to emergency medical responders in the Monroe County, Pennsylvania and Bergen County, New Jersey areas, as well as provide priority supply to U.S. Military personnel through commissaries and exchanges.
Antone McIntyre, director of manufacturing at Hayward, said the company wanted to give back on both a national and local level.
“Not only will our sanitizer benefit workers on the frontlines, but it will also support our local neighborhood and secure jobs for our 300 employees who need to take care of their families during this pandemic," McIntyre said.
E.T. Browne was able to secure the highly needed Isopropyl Alcohol supply for the sanitizer from ExxonMobil, whose leaders worked with the company to prioritize the project. ExxonMobil is the largest producer of Isopropyl Alcohol in the United States, and its cooperation in the effort allowed E.T. Browne and Hayward to begin producing sanitizer for distribution within weeks, the company said.
E.T. Browne Drug Co. is one of the nation’s oldest skincare companies, manufacturing its products since 1840.
The U.S. federal government last month said it would allow firms to begin manufacturing their own hand sanitizer with limited guidance as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic dwindles supply nationally. The FDA said it issued its new guidance after receiving reports of consumers and health care professions unable to access sanitizer after demand soared due to the spreading coronavirus, which has been confirmed in all 50 states and has infected more than 347,000 people in the U.S., according to the most recent Johns Hopkins University data.
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