Connell and Dow "Team Up to Clean Up" With Hand Sanitizer Produced Locally in Myanmar

SAN FRANCISCO and YANGON, Myanmar, Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Two international chemical giants recently used their expertise and local connections to provide a supply of premium hand sanitizer to the people of Myanmar during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Connell and Dow made the presentation of two million milliliters of FDA-approved sanitizer on July 23, 2020, to Minister of Health and Sport Dr. Myint Htwe. The Department of Public Health will distribute the sanitizer, packaged in 1,000-milliliter bottles, to four government hospitals.

Production of the high-quality hand sanitizer was a collaborative effort. "We teamed up to clean up as a local response to the worldwide pandemic," said Connell Country Manager Lars Larsen.

Connell, a marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients in the Asia-Pacific region, donated the main ingredient, 98% ethanol, along with additives of hydrolyzed jojoba ester and moisturizer. Dow, a global materials science company, contributed ACULYN™ 22, a Dow product that helped to give the sanitizer a pleasant, non-tacky feel. The sanitizer was produced and bottled in Yangon.

Local production of the sanitizer for donation to the government has now sparked plans to offer the new sanitizer in Myanmar as a commercial product.

"This is a good, appealing, responsible product that stacks up to anything offered on the world market," Larsen said.

Accordingly, the next step will be to go from producing institutional-sized bottles to small samples that can be distributed as part of a local marketing effort. "We were happy to team up with Dow on our donation effort," Larsen added. "Now we look forward to working to provide the people of Myanmar with a great product going forward."

About Connell and the Wilbur-Ellis Companies

Connell is a leading marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients in Asia-Pacific. It brings outstanding insights and service to the life and industrial science markets and promotes a broad range of leading global manufacturers and its own formulated products. A company of Wilbur-Ellis, Connell provides technical, marketing and supply chain expertise through 48 offices in 18 countries across Asia-Pacific and the United States. For more information, please visit connellworld.com

Founded in 1921, the Wilbur-Ellis companies are leading international marketers and distributors of agricultural products, animal nutrition and specialty chemicals and ingredients. Please visit: wilburellis.com

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 36,500 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

SOURCE Connell