CEMEX Europe has started to produce hand disinfectants according to WHO specifications: Our company wants to make a contribution in the current crisis and meet its responsibility towards our Colleagues in Europe and Globally. Disinfectants will also be donated to local communities, and support hospitals in procuring raw materials.

Personal hygiene is one of the major weapons in the current COVID-19 pandemic, but commercial hand disinfectants are becoming increasingly scarce. “We decided to investigate whether we have the resources and know-how to produce disinfectants in-house, and fortunately we do,” says Dietmar Vötsch, Director Mortars & Admixtures.

Marcelo Catala, CEMEX Europe VP of Urbanisation Solutions at CEMEX, emphasises: “We have extraordinary talent, creativity and expertise in our Teams; scale to leverage… and above all the determination to put our teamwork and solutions at the service of our Colleagues and the Communities in which we operate.”

The production of the new “ISOCLEAN” disinfectants is a joint effort of the Admixtures, Materials and Procurement divisions. This week, the CEMEX Admixtures plant in Salzkotten, Germany will produce sufficient quantities to cover the needs of all the approx. 10,000 CEMEX employees in Europe for the first month. The product will be delivered to all European countries with CEMEX plants. The potent disinfectant mixture is supplied in 5-litre containers together with a user manual and safety instructions. In the next two weeks Admixtures will produce a stock for six months.

Our company will also begin donating disinfectants to local communities and plans to make the disinfectants available to customers on a cost base only. In addition, some colleagues are helping pharmacies and hospitals to secure raw materials.

The Admixtures plant usually produces construction chemicals such as air-entraining agents, water reducers, concrete retarders, accelerators and superplasticisers. The facility and its staff are therefore well positioned to ensure safety and quality.

The formulations are recommended by the World Health Organisation for relatively simple, local production. ISOCLEAN WHO 1 is an alcoholic solution containing 70 to 80% ethanol. The second formulation, ISOCLEAN WHO 2, is based on 70 to 80% isopropyl alcohol. Hand disinfectants in the form of gel or liquid are particularly effective and work quickly.

CEMEX Europe’s cross-divisional team is working in close coordination with colleagues at our company’s headquarters in Mexico, in the wider EMEAA region, in the United States, and in the SCAC region. “We share our findings so that they can be leveraged by our international colleagues as quickly as possible,” explains Marcelo Catala. “We hope that our efforts will help keep our employees and our external stakeholders safe.”

CEMEX R&D, Innovation and Business Development projects are part of the global R&D collaboration network, headed by CEMEX Research Centres, based in Switzerland.