CLEVELAND, April 2, 2020 -- Lubrizol, a leading specialty chemical company with a mission to improve lives, today announced a $2 million donation commitment to support COVID-19 needs globally. This pledge extends the work the company is already doing as companies across the globe leverage Lubrizol’s science for hand sanitizers, medical gowns, face masks, drug products, medical devices, transport vehicles and countless other applications.
“Every day, our employees deliver products that enable the world to move cleaner, create smarter and live better, and our team is fully committed to meet those needs, do it safely and deliver even greater impact during this global crisis,” said Eric Schnur, Lubrizol President and CEO. “In addition to the work that ends up in critical end-use products, we have been and will continue to support communities in need throughout this pandemic.”
As part of its $2 million donation pledge, the company has already contributed $325,000 in critical supplies to hospitals and charitable organizations in China, is supporting hospitals and medical staff in the US and Europe, established a U.S. matching gift program with the American Red Cross, and is building a team of employees to provide virtual volunteering support, among many other efforts.
The company also is leveraging its science to enable important end-use products critical in this environment, including:
Enabling 1 Billion Additional Bottles of Hand Sanitizer Every Month
Lubrizol will enable an additional 1 billion bottles of hand sanitizer globally every month by increasing its Carbopol® polymer production. Lubrizol’s Carbopol polymers efficiently thicken hand sanitizer formulations and allow the gel-like form we know them as today, which allows for a more complete and effective application. Since early January, the company pulled every available lever to support growing Carbopol polymer demand and converted its global manufacturing assets to prioritize supply for cleansing and sanitizing products.
Partnering to Solve Personal Protection Equipment & Critical Supply Shortages
Lubrizol’s ESTANE® thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials are being applied in a multitude of applications to help protect responders and fight the COVID-19 battle. ESTANE TPU’s versatility, durability and barrier properties bring value in protective garments, face shields, barrier curtains, hoses, tubing and cables, and devices produced through 3D printing. Our material scientists are collaborating with customers across the globe to help them adjust their operations to serve these urgent needs and address critical shortages.
Contributing to Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals
Lubrizol teams supporting pharmaceutical customers are ensuring active ingredient delivery in a variety of drug products, while also supplying medical customers with flexible, biocompatible materials for vascular catheters, IV tubing sets, wound dressings and medical device components utilized in ventilators, valves, and infusion pumps.
Moving More than Half of the World’s Vehicles
Lubrizol’s additives keep more than half of the world’s vehicles running reliably and efficiently. During this pandemic, the company is continuing its important role in supporting the world’s infrastructure, including keeping first responder and delivery vehicles moving.
Protecting Food Packaging and Delivering Clean Water
Lubrizol’s coatings chemistry is protecting millions of packages of food and other staples, while its materials used in piping systems reliably deliver clean water for hand washing and safe drinking.
Keeping 8,800 Employees Safe
Above all, Lubrizol is keeping its 8,800 employees safe. As part of its safety culture, Lubrizol had pandemic plans and teams in place well before COVID-19. These teams were activated early in this journey and regularly assess and follow global health recommendations, as well as local guidance in all areas where the company operates.
Employees who can are working from home. In other locations, the company minimized the number of employees on site, initiating rotations where feasible, practicing social distancing and instituting additional cleaning procedures. In all locations, Lubrizol has a range of policies to support employees as they seek to balance their professional and personal lives during this unprecedented time.
About The Lubrizol Corporation
The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a market-driven global company that combines complex, specialty chemicals to optimize the quality, performance and value of customers’ products while reducing their environmental impact. It is a leader at combining market insights with chemistry and application capabilities to deliver valuable solutions to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol improves lives by acting as an essential partner in our customers’ success, delivering efficiency, reliability or wellness to their end users. Technologies include lubricant additives for engine oils, driveline and other transportation-related fluids, industrial lubricants, as well as additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for home care, personal care and skin care products and specialty materials encompassing polymer and coatings technologies, along with polymer-based pharmaceutical and medical device solutions.
With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2018 were $6.8 billion.
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CLEVELAND, April 2, 2020 -- Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc., a global specialty chemical company with a mission to improve lives, today announced that it has increased production of its patented Carbopol® polymers, a thickening agent found in most hand sanitizing gels and cleansing applications, to assist with the global fight against COVID-19.
Since early January, we have modified and expanded our production, and consulted with customers on new formulations, allowing us to triple the amount of hand sanitizer ingredients we can supply our customers. This will enable 1 billion bottles of hand sanitizer every month to be delivered to the healthcare industry, first responders and consumers around the world. Two years ago, Lubrizol proactively made the decision to invest more than $20 million to increase supply capabilities. The expansion was expedited earlier this year and is now complete, months ahead of schedule, enabling the ramped-up production of Carbopol polymers.
“Across the globe, hospitals, as well as the consumer market, are facing an unprecedented shortage of hand sanitizer,” said Bernardo Medeiros, general manager of Lubrizol Life Science, Beauty and Home. “Consistent with our message to improve lives, we have collaborated with our key customers, suppliers, partners and our global logistics network to provide the essential ingredients and solutions to help fight this pandemic. The use of Carbopol polymers is just one example of how Lubrizol is leveraging its science to support COVID-19 needs globally.”
Lubrizol will continue to explore ways to meet customer needs during these extraordinary circumstances without compromising its rigorous focus on keeping its workers safe and minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Our experienced applications team is available to discuss alternative formulations using different grades of Lubrizol’s Carbopol polymers. Please reach out to a representative for more information and formulation support.
About Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc.
Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc. is a subsidiary of The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, The Lubrizol Corporation is a market-driven global company that combines complex, specialty chemicals to optimize the quality, performance and value of customers’ products while reducing their environmental impact. It is a leader at combining market insights with chemistry and application capabilities to deliver valuable solutions to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol improves lives by acting as an essential partner in our customers’ success, delivering efficiency, reliability or wellness to their end users. Technologies include lubricant additives for engine oils, driveline and other transportation-related fluids, industrial lubricants, as well as additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for home care, personal care and skin care products and specialty materials encompassing polymer and coatings technologies, along with polymer-based pharmaceutical and medical device solutions.
With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2018 were $6.8 billion.
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March 20, 2020 -- As we collectively navigate this unprecedented COVID-19 environment, Lubrizol remains committed to the health and safety of our employees, our customers and our communities. As part of our safety culture, Lubrizol had pandemic plans and teams in place well before COVID-19.
These teams were activated early in this journey and are regularly assessing and following both global health recommendations, as well as local guidance in all areas where we operate. Across the company, Lubrizol has a range of policies to support employees as they seek to balance their professional and personal lives during this environment.
As it relates to our operations, many of the products Lubrizol makes are essential ingredients to protect our first responders and keep our healthcare systems supplied with critical resources, as well as ensure continuity of infrastructure and transportation.
We’ve instituted a variety of new practices and protocols to ensure these materials remain available, while at the same time protecting our employees as our first priority. Employees who can work remotely have been encouraged to do so in many locations. In other locations, we’ve minimized the number of employees on site, initiating rotations where feasible while practicing social distancing. We also are applying early learnings from our locations in China, which have remained fully operational, to our global response.
At this time, our manufacturing operations across the world have not been significantly impacted. The majority of inventory across our business also remains at normal levels, and we are closely monitoring logistics flow to minimize disruptions.
We will provide regular updates to our employees and customers as this situation evolves.
Emmanuelle Maddocks
Communication Lubrizol France
emmanuelle.maddocks@lubrizol.com
Alicia Gauer
Director of Communications
alicia.gauer@lubrizol.com
