WICKLIFFE, Ohio—Lubrizol Corp. is donating $2 million to combat the coronavirus pandemic while customers are "leveraging its science" in the areas of polymers and elastomers to manufacture products needed by health care workers.
The specialty chemical company's materials, additives and coatings are used for hand sanitizers, medical gowns, face masks, drug products, medical devices and transport vehicles.
In response to the respiratory virus outbreak, Lubrizol is spending $2 million globally to support hospitals and medical staff in the U.S., Europe and China, and it has established a matching gift program with the American Red Cross.
Founded in 1928, Lubrizol operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries and has 8,800 employees around the world.
The company contributed $325,000 in critical supplies to China as part of its $2 million pledge, which extends the work the company is already doing to support billions of lives.
For example, company officials said Lubrizol "pulled every available lever" in early January to meet increased demand for is Carbopol polymers, which thicken hand sanitizer formulations into a gel-like form.
Lubrizol made Carbopol production a priority at its manufacturing sites and boosted output enough to make an additional 1 billion bottles of hand sanitizer every month.
In addition, Lubrizol scientists are collaborating with customers of their Estane brand thermoplastic urethane materials, which are used for protective garments, face shields, barrier curtains, hoses, tubing and cables, and devices. The scientists are helping manufacturers adjust their operations to address critical shortages of medical supplies.
"Every day, our employees deliver products that enable the world to move cleaner, create smarter and live better, and our team is fully committed to meet those needs, do it safely and deliver even greater impact during this global crisis," Eric Schnur, Lubrizol CEO and president, said in a news release. "In addition to the work that ends up in critical end-use products, we have been and will continue to support communities in need throughout this pandemic."
Lubrizol teams also are helping their pharmaceutical customers with active ingredients for a variety of drug products and medical customers with flexible, biocompatible materials for vascular catheters, IV tubing sets, wound dressings and medical device components utilized in ventilators, valves, and infusion pumps.
Lubrizol also produces additives that keep vehicles running reliably and its coatings protect food packages.
Company officials said they had pandemic plans and teams in place to protect employees before the COVID-19 crisis. Employees who can are working from home and others are practicing social distancing while the company steps up cleaning procedures.