“Our R&D department
has been able to rapidly qualify alternative raw materials or, where this hasn’t been possible, reformulate products entirely.”
Fighting back against COVID
Evans Vanodine discusses the challenges facing them across the business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(
https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/how-to-heal-dry-sore-hands)
The past year has been a challenge for all of us, both personally and professionally. Everyone has been ‘doing their bit’ and contributed towards keeping themselves and others safe, whilst also trying to maintain livelihoods and become home-schoolers overnight.
Washing and sanitising our handsmore often has now become ingrained in our daily lives, as well as awareness of infection prevention and control now playing a pivotal role in our collective fight against COVID-19.
The protection of our incredible hospitals, NHS heroes, and frontline workers in supermarkets, corner shops, warehouses, schools, post offices and delivery vehicles has been our top priority throughout the pandemic. They have all played a vital role during these unprecedented times, and continue to do so.
At Evans Vanodine, we have been developing and manufacturing cleaners and disinfectants for over 100 years. We are extremely proud to have played our part in helping to keep the country and many overseas protected; however, it is a responsibility that has not been without its challenges.
The supply chain is seeing just as many problems now as it did in the height of the pandemic. Across the globe, resources are being stretched to the limit and demand has overtaken supply. Sourcing the raw materials to manufacture our chemicals, right through to the packaging in which they are stored, became a weekly, and sometimes
22 | COVER STORY
daily, task, as the whole market – including new ‘pop- up’ manufacturers – competed to secure the same components or alternatives.
Shortages in critical packaging items, such as trigger sprays and hand lotion pumps, have eased and the staggering costs of raw materials, in particular isopropyl alcohol (IPA), the base ingredient in Handsan, have now reverted to an almost pre-pandemic level; however, the focus has now shifted to other areas. Polymer pricing has skyrocketed since quarter one this year, and whilst it has now started to level off, it shows no sign of reducing yet. The pulp market has seen major force majeure called at the end of 2020 which has had a huge knock-on effect on our carton supply.
In addition, freight costs from China and the Far east are at an astronomically high level as a result of port closures due to staffing levels, COVID-19, and vessels choosing not to sail or not to stop at certain ports, therefore affecting raw materials and packaging coming in via those supply routes. This, coupled with the impact of Brexit and raw material registration fees, is seeing lead times and costs increasing greatly.
Demand for disinfectants and hand sanitisers throughout the pandemic saw several non-compliant products come to market, which did not necessarily meet the requirements to be effective against the COVID-19 virus, posing health risks. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) coordinated enforcement throughout Europe, to protect citizens from the risks of illicit and ineffective products. In the UK this
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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