COVID-19: CEMEX UK now making hand sanitiser

07 May, 2020

Company’s National Technical Centre produces hand sanitiser to support effort against coronavirus

CEMEX UK’s National Technical Centre in Southam, Warwickshire, is now producing hand sanitiser that can help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This means the company can ensure that enough of the product is available for all of its sites across the country, and also provides opportunities to support the local community.

So far, the team in Southam have been able to deliver to more than 60 CEMEX locations nationwide and have also donated twenty 100ml bottles to Warwickshire-based charity Myton Hospice for use by its doctors, nurses and physio staff who are working on the in-patient unit and out in the community.

Creating the hand sanitiser, which is being made to World Health Organization (WHO) specifications, was the first task of the company’s newly formed LabExperts operation.

Mike Higgins, CEMEX’s national technical manager for quality and product development and head of LabExperts, explained: ‘We are perfectly set up for creating a central supply of hand sanitiser that can help both our employees and those in the local community. While the chemistry to manufacture this important product is not complex, you do need a controlled laboratory environment with the right equipment and the ability to test every batch.

‘We have a good supply of raw materials in place and are confident we will be able to manufacture as much hand sanitiser as the business needs, while also making the most of opportunities to support the local community.

‘So far, we have supplied more than 60 of our ready-mixed concrete, aggregates and asphalt plants and paving solutions, logistics, DSM and cement operations. Our location also means we are perfectly placed to ensure a quick delivery to where the product is needed. We know how important it is to prevent the spread of the virus, so all of the team are very proud to have this opportunity to help.’

Chris Willmott, corporate fundraiser for Myton Hospice, added: ‘On behalf of myself, The Myton Hospices and our patients and their families, we would like to thank CEMEX for the donation of 20 bottles of hand sanitiser. Thanks to this gift, our nurses and frontline care teams can care for our terminally ill patients knowing they and the patients are much better protected and are doing their bit to fight the spread of COVID-19.’