COMPANIES IN ECUADOR WILL STOP PRODUCING LIQUOR AND PAINT TO MAKE ALCOHOL AND ANTIBACTERIAL GEL

Published by Expreso newspaper on March 22nd. 2020

The sanitary emergency inspires some companies to change their line of business. Pintulac, Wesco, Zhumir, Cerveceria Nacional, and others.

As well as General Motors, Ford, Ferrari and Tesla analyze to change their line of business to fabricate ventilators to help those infected by coronavirus. In Ecuador, companies adequate their facilities to generate medical supplies with the most demand during the sanitary emergency.

Two weeks ago, Wesco decided to stop their paint factory together with Pintulac, in order to design a plan that would allow them to make antiseptic alcohol and antibacterial gel. Valeria Pinos, marketing manager of Pintulac, mentions that the first 1000 liters were donated and delivered on Saturday march 21th to the Comité de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE). Starting next week, they will make more products for sale.

In order to carry forward this new line of production, the industry had to do shift with reduced schedule and choose the staff that lives close to the plant (located at the north of Quito). They have been provided facilities to get to the factory, and implements to protect their health have been given to them as well.

Corporacion Azcende has joined this initiative; a Cuenca company that makes Zhumir. It stopped the making on liquor on Monday to start producing antibacterial liquid. Jose Santiago Mendez, communication director of the Corporation, mentioned that one part of the supply is been donated, and the other to equip the pharmacies in the country.

“We know that liquor is not a primary need. Since the declaration of the emergency, we changed the work dynamic to elaborate a product based on 70% alcohol"

In Guayaquil, Cervecería Nacional, works in something similar. It is Sunday, but they keep doing errands against the clock in order to adapt their facilities to make alcohol in gel, that will be donated to security forces and medical staff.

However, changing the production lines has not been an easy process. For some companies it means to make big efforts to obtain the permits they need, as the health registration. “It was not easy, this is still in the process, we have started producing because we have all certificates that support this type of production.” Pinos said.

Hence a call to all authorities to simplify the process. “We believe that in a sanitary emergency like the one we are living; the process must be speeded up for companies not to have many obstacles.” He added.

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