With the tumultuous year, we’ve had, it is important to give credit to those local people and businesses who have been forced to adapt to continue serving their communities. Over the next fortnight, JCL Insurance Brokers will spotlight some of the local businesses doing just that.
2020 has seen all manner of businesses evolving their work to aid the NHS and the fight against coronavirus. From tech giants and pharmaceutical companies to industrial and electronics manufacturers, everyone has been playing their part. The alcohol industry has been no different.
Whilst larger corporations such as “Chase Distillery”, “Harrogate Gin” and “BrewDog” have led the way in putting their alcohol-producing resources to good use, it is amazing to see smaller, local distilleries follow in their footsteps.
Back in April, a local Gin Distillery halted its production of alcoholic drinks in favour of producing alcoholic hand sanitiser.
After the hand sanitiser shortages became apparent, the Shropshire based company made the bold decision to put all remaining alcohol supplies into hand wash, targeted specifically at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH), The Robert Jones Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) as well as local care homes (Burrows, 2020).
The distillery tracked down the list of ingredients from the World Health Organisation’s website with one of the Directors commenting: “We’ve just wanted to do what we can to help NHS staff during these difficult times. They work tirelessly, in really tough circumstances, so we’re thrilled that we can help them in some way.”
Whilst initial challenges included both ingredients sourcing as well as red tape and legislation surrounding alcohol duty, they persevered and successfully donated vital supplies of hand sanitiser mere weeks after beginning production.