Arlanxeo producing hand sanitizer to help fight coronavirus

DORMAGEN, Germany—Arlanxeo is producing more than 10,000 liters of hand sanitizer to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Arlanxeo, one of the world's leading suppliers of synthetic elastomers, is donating the disinfectant to the town of Dormagen, where Arlanxeo Deutschland GmbH is based.

The first delivery of 700 liters was presented to the town's fire and rescue service. Some disinfectant also has gone to Realschule Hackenbroich High School, which maintains a school cooperation with Arlanxeo.

"We want to do our bit locally in Dormagen, where we have our largest site in Germany, and help to minimize the risk of infection," Stefan Rittmann, managing director of Arlanxeo Deutschland GmbH, said in a statement. "Especially in these challenging times, what's needed is swift and unbureaucratic help. We were, therefore, more than happy to make our production capacities available at short notice in order to produce and donate hand sanitizer."

The disinfectant is being produced at the Arlanxeo pilot plant at Chempark Dormagen. The plant normally works on process and product developments for the Arlanxeo research laboratories and production plants.

The disinfectant is based on a formula of the World Health Organization, which has been approved by Germany's Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The solution contains 80 percent ethanol by volume, which means it is effective against the coronavirus.