Last week, I handed over 10 containers from all of us at Sekab holding a total of 250 litres of hand sanitizer to Karin Söderberg at Örnsköldsvik’s hospital. It felt wonderful! I am very proud that all participating employees have acted so swiftly in these trying times. They have ensured that we have been able to produce much needed hand sanitizer for health care in a record time.

Karin Söderberg told me that some of the hospital wards had recently begun experiencing a shortage of hand sanitizer and they are having difficulty finding more. That makes us so happy to be able to help.

It’s imperative that we do not let the infection reach the elderly and most vulnerable people in society. And if we are to slow down the spread of this infection, we need to work together. Whether to help is not even a question for us in this present situation – we feel strongly that it is our duty.

In this initial stage, we will produce 65,000 litres of hand sanitizer for the health care sector. The hand sanitizer is made with cellulosic ethanol, a residual from the biorefinery Domsjö Fabriker here in Örnsköldsvik.

The access to cellulosic ethanol from Domsjö Fabriker means that we are well-placed to produce a lot of hand sanitizer. Our assessment is that we have the capacity to produce large quantities even if we are facing a prolonged coronavirus breakout.

Our mindset is clear: the Swedish health care sector should not have to worry about access to hand sanitizer!