Sanitizing product manufactured at BASF’s Windsor facility will be donated to hospitals, care facilities and other institutions in areas of high need.
With the goal of helping overcome current and future bottlenecks for hand sanitizer resulting from a significant increase in demand, BASF starts production of hand sanitizers in Canada. The sanitizing product manufactured at BASF’s Windsor facility will be donated to hospitals, care facilities and other institutions in areas of high need, identified in collaboration with the provincial governments of Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.
“The novel coronavirus outbreak has had a tremendous impact to our society. At BASF Canada, we have considered how our businesses and local footprint could positively respond to these challenges and support those who are particularly in need now and in the immediate future: healthcare facilities and essential service professionals,” says Marcelo Lu, president of BASF Canada. “I am extremely proud of our Canadian colleagues for their fast response to the crisis. They worked diligently and in close collaboration with Health Canada, other government departments and our supplying partners to obtain approvals and pivot our production to hand sanitizers. We thank both federal and provincial government’s rapid response in collaborating with industry as we work together to provide solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic and supply shortages.”
BASF’s Windsor site, where the hand sanitizer is being produced, is a key coatings supplier in several automotive OEM and refinish applications. “Given the slower demand from the automotive sector, we were happy to adjust and contribute to the fight against COVID-19,” says Jeff Klevering, site director for the Windsor facility. “We have an amazing team who wanted to rally around this cause and generate a positive impact.”
In the past weeks, BASF Canada has also donated other key supplies to the healthcare sector across Canada such as disinfectants, hand soap, masks, gloves and protective suits. BASF Canada’s Agricultural Solutions team has also launched a virtual food drive in partnership with Food Banks Canada to help maintain Canadian’s access to healthy, safe food during this time. For every dollar employees raise, BASF will match up to a combined total of $100,000.
Globally, BASF Group currently supplies around 175,000 liters of hand sanitizer weekly free of charge and has recently donated over 100 million protective masks, according to the company.
For more information, visit: www.basf.com
