The new business will be headquartered in the UK and operate manufacturing plants at Newton Aycliffe, UK, Herne, Germany, Etai, France, and Jacksonville, Florida and Neville Island, Pennsylvania, USA.

Ineos Hygienics will make a range of hospital-grade hand gels, sanitizer sprays for hands and surfaces, along with sanitizer wipes. The company said it will formulate its sanitizers with 75% alcohol as advised by The World Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration and European health services.

As Europe’s largest producer of the ultra-purity ethanol and isopropyl alcohol used to make the sanitizers, Ineos also claims to be the only company in the world that can produce and supply medical-grade product direct to consumers.

Supplies are now starting to online retail giant Amazon as well as pharmacies, wholesalers and supermarkets in the UK and Germany, with shipments to France and the US to follow shortly.

“Ineos Hygienics is determined to ensure our products are available to meet the increased demand around the world,” said George Ratcliffe, chief operating officer of Ineos Hygienics, who is the son of Ineos’ chairman and principal shareholder Jim Ratcliffe.

“As a new and quickly evolving hygiene business, we will be able to meet the demands of both consumers and businesses as we all adapt to the new demands for hygiene against Corona and other viruses,” Ratcliffe said.

The newly created company added that it is also providing hygiene products to the various elite sport teams that Ineos has invested in. These include the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, the America’s Cup sailing team, French football club OGC Nice and the British national cycling team.