MOL Group, an integrated, international oil and gas company, headquartered in Hungary, has started production of hand and surface sanitizers to offer protection against the coronavirus. Both products have been in short supply in Hungary.

 

MOL has transformed one of its production facilities at Almásfüzitő into a sanitizer production plant to help the fight against the coronavirus.

 

Lubricants producer and MOL Group member MOL Lub Ltd has shifted production of a windshield washer production line at its Almásfüzitő plant in only one week, the company said in a statement.

 

The unit is operating 24/7, in three shifts, producing a daily volume of around 50,000 litres of sanitizer. The first volumes of the new product line, which will be available from mid-April at MOL service stations under the brand name MOL Hygi, have started shipping to certain key state institutions.

 

The formulas for the two new products have been created on the basis of WHO recommendations, and have been tested and approved by the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition in record time in light of the COVID-19 situation. The ethanol for producing the hand sanitizer has been sourced from Hungary. These new hygienic products are thus being sourced from, and manufactured by, Hungarian firms.

 

MOL Lub has already shipped the first manufactured volumes to state institutions playing a key role in the fight against coronavirus (e.g., hospitals, waste management companies, public utilities) as directed by the Operative Group set up by the Hungarian government. Production and shipping will be continuous. 

 

MOL is also using these new products to protect its own colleagues working at its refineries, plants and service stations against the coronavirus so that an adequate number of our staff will always be available to ensure the security of energy supply in Hungary.

 

MOL Lub is also working to make these products available at its retail outlets to all Hungarians to help ease current shortages. 

 

MOL Hygi is available in 2-litre recyclable plastic bottles for the time being but will also come in smaller sizes as of next month, the company said.

 

MOL Group is also starting production of the sanitizers in Slovakia and Croatia. INA, the Croatian member of the Group, will be producing 50,000 litres of sanitizer for now. In Slovakia, production of the sanitizer was launched at VURUP, also a member of MOL Group.

 

MOL Group chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi said: “Sanitizers, which are one of the key tools of protection against the coronavirus, are in short supply all over the world. In light of the worsening pandemic situation we have, in coordination with the Hungarian government, decided to put a production line at one of our plants in the service of offering protection against the virus. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary solutions. We have made the switch at the plant, obtained the necessary approvals and optimized production processes in only two weeks, a record time. We truly hope that the hand sanitizer manufactured at the Almásfüzitő plant will be a meaningful contribution to the fight against the virus.” –TradeArabia News Service