US: Clorox ramps up production of wipes, disinfectants in battle against COVID-19

One of America’s most popular and trusted disinfectant products brand, Clorox, produced 40 million more items in the first quarter of 2020 and has ramped up the manufacturing amid ease of restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. With a 500 percent increase in demand since March, the company said that it sold in a week due to a surge in demand more than it used to in a month, as per reports. 

Clorox CEO Benno Dorer reportedly said that the company was in catch-up mode as the coronavirus pandemic transformed the century-old company’s operations. Further, he reportedly said that at least five plants that manufactured the wipes for homes and its new product ⁠— 55-gallon bleach drums that is being used in cleaning the 14,000 hospital rooms now have to function 24 hours. The company’s workforce of 8,800 had to be ramped up with over 263 new employees, the pay for the employees had to be increased and the $1,000 bonuses had to be offered to the workers, he was quoted as saying.  

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Demand jumped by 1,400%

Further, Dorer added that the production of the disinfectant has to be ramped up even more, as the demands are skyrocketing. The staff at the plants are overwhelmed and stagger meals and breaks. He said that the mounting work and increased staff called for social distancing protocol adherence. The workers wore gloves and face masks regularly and had their temperatures taken, he emphasized, as per a media report.

Not only Clorox, manufacturers of household cleaning products like Lysol wipes and hand sanitizers such as Purell also have to accelerate the production to cater to the surge in demands, according to media reports. Demand for hand sanitizers reportedly jumped by 1,400% from December to January, according to market researchers at Adobe Analytics. As a result of which, some suppliers and the smaller manufacturers of hand sanitizers warned customers that the products might be out-of-stock. In a new guideline, the customers will be limited to four bottles of hand sanitizer and four bottles of hand soap per visit across the stores in the US, according to some local news reports.

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(Image Credit: Instagram/ Clorox)