Whether you’re setting up camp at home or dutifully washing your hands to the tune of “Happy Birthday” for 20 seconds, minimizing the spread of COVID-19 is a job that rests on the shoulders of each and every one of us. It’s a job that Tampa-based manufacturer Sun Coatings takes so seriously, they’ve added hand sanitizer to their production schedule.

“To us, it’s just doing the right thing at the right time,” said Michael Hyer, Sun Coatings CEO. “We’re a family run business and we have been for 30 or 40 years. We thought it was the logical thing to do.”

Following FDA and WHO approved guidelines, Sun Coatings has produced over 1000 gallons of hand sanitizer using isopropyl alcohol—one of the raw materials they regularly use in the adhesives, caulks, paints and coatings they manufacture. Of the 1000 gallons of sanitizer they’ve produced so far, at least 700 have gone to first responders in the region, including the Tampa and Hillsborough County Police and Fire Departments and MacDill Air Force Base. 

Made with only a handful of ingredients—unlike Sun Coating’s regular products which several more—hand sanitizer has a relatively simple production process. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been challenges along the way. National panic resulted in a shortage of isopropyl alcohol as households stocked up beyond what was necessary and price gouging shot the price up by almost ten times.

Still, knowing that the critical need for hand sanitizer won’t be satisfied anytime soon, Sun Coatings is doing everything they can to obtain materials and continue production. Word of Sun Coatings’ supply has even traveled as far as the Kissimmee Police Department, who reached out to purchase as much hand sanitizer as they could.

“It’s been very fulfilling to see it all come around and to know that we’re able to help out our community,” Hyer said.

Categorized in: Community, Industry