Local company starts making hand sanitizer for first responders, military

A manufacturer of skin and hair care products in East Stroudsburg has begun focusing on producing medical-grade hand sanitizer for local emergency first responders and military personnel.

E.T. Browne Drug Co., manufacturer of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula and Coconut Oil Formula skin and hair care products, said its East Stroudsburg-based manufacturing facility, Hayward Laboratories, has started producing sanitizer for immediate distribution, to address widespread supply shortages in the wake of COVID-19.

Nearly 300 Hayward employees at its Pennsylvania and New Jersey locations are leading this effort, which required the manufacturer to mobilize its supply chain within weeks. The company plans to donate sanitizers to emergency medical responders in the Monroe County and Bergen County, New Jersey areas (where they currently operate), as well as provide priority supply to U.S. military personnel and their families through commissaries and exchanges.

“The plan right now is to get it to first responders and U.S. military personnel,” said Antone McIntyre, director of manufacturing at Hayward. “We will start with donations to Lehigh Valley Health Network in the Lehigh Valley.”

As the company increases capacity, McIntyre said he would like to start providing donations to first responders at St. Luke’s University Health Network as well.

“We want to give back on both a national and local level and support the community that has been there for us for over 25 years,” McIntyre said. “Not only will our sanitizer benefit workers on the frontlines, but it will also support our local neighborhood and secure jobs for our 300 employees who need to take care of their families during this pandemic.”

While it is not too difficult to make hand sanitizer, McIntyre said many vendors are not supplying it like they used to.

E.T. Browne secured its isopropyl alcohol supply for the sanitizer from ExxonMobil, and McIntyre said the company plans to produce 500,000 to one million bottles over the next couple of months.

“I want to give a lot of credit to our employees,” McIntyre said. “They come in each and every day to produce a product that fights COVID-19.”

E.T. Browne Drug Co. is a family-owned business and has corporate headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.