Economy, Transport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates has thanked iconic Welsh whisky and spirits brand Penderyn on diverting its expert distillers to produce much needed hand sanitiser for the NHS in Wales.
As a result of the demand for hand sanitiser gels and liquids during the current Coronavirus pandemic, Penderyn is now producing hand sanitiser liquid with an 80% alcohol strength.
The company was keen to help in these very challenging times and is producing 10,000 litres of hand sanitiser on a weekly basis with the first batch due in NHS hospitals and centres this month through a partner company, Lovair Ltd.
Economy, Transport and North Wales Minister, Ken Skates said:
“Penderyn is a fantastic example of a business stepping up and adapting the way it works to support our efforts in beating Coronavirus.
“Our NHS stars are performing lifesaving acts of heroism each and every day and as a Welsh Government working together with businesses such as Penderyn, we are doing all that we can to protect our health service and provide them with what they need.
“I thank Penderyn for their innovative thinking and encourage more firms throughout Wales to follow their example. If you can and are able to change your way of working to develop products and devices to help beat Coronavirus then we want to hear from you.”
The Penderyn Hand Sanitiser is made according to a widely accepted formulation from the WHO (World Health Organisation) and has been approved for use by the NHS in Wales.
As a single malt distillery, Penderyn is in a fortunate position as its unique Faraday Stills produce alcohol at an industry high of around 90% ABV compared to the more common 70-75% ABV production of other similar distilleries.
As one of the many distilleries approached to produce hand sanitiser, Penderyn was contacted early on by the NHS in Wales and committed the vast majority of its production capacity to support the fight against Coronavirus. The hand sanitiser will also be available for purchase by other businesses in Wales and beyond.
Lovair director, Fraser Lovell, said: “It has been a real privilege to supply the NHS Wales in these difficult times and show our small contribution to help the overall big picture of overcoming this unexpected pandemic. The speed of which all partners on this project have moved with open relationships all round, has been refreshing to be part of.”
For private individuals, Penderyn is going to make the hand sanitiser available in smaller, hand-held atomisers which will be available from the latter part of April. The initial supply will be 5,000 units of 180ml each. This product will be bottled by a local company in South Wales and will be available for purchase in Penderyn’s Distillery and Online stores.
All Penderyn staff will be issued with personal atomiser bottles and an allocation has already been made available to a selected range of nominated local charities.
Penderyn’s CEO, Stephen Davies, said: “We never imagined that our single malt spirit would be used in this way but we are pleased that most of the sanitising products will be used by the NHS in Wales.”
