Kickstart: More Purell production as maker continues its 'wild ride'

Who, on Jan. 1, would have predicted that 2020 would be a massive growth year for Purell?

Sure, the brand created and produced by Akron, Ohio-based Gojo Industries had a fine niche. The name itself, Purell, is nearly synonymous with the overall product of hand sanitizers. But it was kind of just "there." You'd see bottles at schools and offices and sanitizer stations at convention halls. If you're like me, you also ended up with a collection of sample-size bottles given away at trade shows and other events.

But as the coronavirus spread, Purell and other hand sanitizers became highly sought items, with store shelves stripped bare. Gojo has seen "an exponential increase" in demand for its products, President and CEO Carey Jaros said in a story in our sister publication Crain's Cleveland Business.

In February, the company ramped up production, adding shifts to support around-the-clock manufacturing. Over the last few months, Gojo has hired more than 300 full- and part-time employees, bringing its Ohio workforce to nearly 1,800 people.

So it should not be a surprise that Gojo is adding a new production facility in Maple Heights, Ohio, and a distribution site in Navarre, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine even announced the growth plans at a regular briefing on the state's response to COVID-19.

Gojo has some in-house blow molding in Wooster, Ohio, but also depends on outside suppliers for packaging, with new sources stepping up as demand raged.

"We have sourced all kinds of components, bottles and caps and all kinds of things from places that are very unexpected in order to be able to respond," Jaros said. "It's been a roller coaster. It's been a wild ride for us."

This is going to be a tough year for auto suppliers, even those with global platforms. Germany's Continental AG — with plastics and rubber production in its ContiTech business — will probably be forced to lay off workers to cut costs, according to a report from German media, which was picked up by Reuters news service.

But while the Hanover-based company wasn't commenting on that report, on June 3 it announced that it was linking compansation to its executive board members based not only on financial performance but also on the company meeting sustainability goals.

"Relevant aspects for now include the full transition to renewable sources for all externally procured electricity this year, a gradually increased representation of women in management positions, a reduction in the rate of accidents and sickness in the company, and a higher proportion of recycled waste," Continental stated in a news release.

The "variable salary component" for executives also will be linked to sustainability and share price goals.

"By aligning the new remuneration system with the sustainability, competitiveness and viability of the company, Continental is driving forward the fundamental transformation process that is currently underway in the entire automotive industry," the company said.

These past few months, we've all become familiar with Zoom, using them for regular business meetings and social gatherings alike. (And of course there are the office workers pulling double duty by also getting their kids to Zoom classrooms on time.)

For Revere Plastics Systems Inc., Zoom also became part of the process of acquiring two plants.

Revere is just waiting for final court approval to buy two Techniplas LLC plants. Techniplas entered Chapter 11 protection in May as part of a restructuring. So Revere had to act quickly while the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic complicated the typical plant visits that are part of every acquisition.

"We had to deal with having to do every single thing through a Zoom call or some sort of video conferencing. And then traveling to the facilities, everything was complicated, it took two days to get the team anywhere," Doug Drummond, Revere's vice president of sales and marketing, said.