Family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons will kick start World Health Organisation-approved ethanol production at its distilleries in Girvan in Scotland and Tullamore in Ireland, to supply ethanol to a range of hand sanitiser manufacturers.
What’s more, William Grant also revealed plans to meet Food & Drug Administration (FDA) standards across The Pond at its smaller-scale Tuthilltown site in New York state so it can begin packaging and distributing hand sanitiser to local healthcare providers.
Diverting people and technology
William Grant’s pledge sees the spirit maker join the likes of BrewDog, drinks giant Diageo, Suffolk brewer Adnams and Norwich-based Bullards Gin in assisting the production of hand sanitiser.
As reported by The Morning Advertiser, Diageo said it would help produce 8m bottles of hand sanitiser for front-line workers by donating up to 2m litres of alcohol to manufacturers while Adnams has offered alcohol and its facilities to the University of East Anglia (UEA) to produce sanitiser for the NHS and social care workers.
“Through this initiative, we can divert our technology and the skills of our people to contribute to the essential work of protecting people around the world from the impact of coronavirus,” Simon Hunt, chief executive at William Grant & Sons said of the drink maker’s initiative.
“Our proud teams are determined to do what they can to help at our distilleries.”
William Grant will review its ethanol production initiative after eight weeks in order to assess future needs and supply options.
