INEOS, one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, yesterday announced its intention to produce three million bottles of hand sanitiser per month at three new factories in the UK, France and Germany which it intends to build in 10 days.

There is a critical shortage in Europe and the new product will be manufactured according to the specifications of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to specially kill bacteria and viruses.

INEOS (www.ineoshandgel.com) is the largest European producer of the two raw materials needed to make the hand sanitiser — isopropyl alcohol and ethanol.

Its factories are already running at full capacity and the company has dedicated more of these products to essential medical purposes and INEOS will now build three new factories to manufacture and bottle the hand sanitiser.

The company plans to produce both standard and pocket-size hand sanitisers and is in talks with a network of points of sale in Europe. Supplies to hospitals will be free during the crisis period and the public will be able to purchase bottles from retailers.

Its products are essential for the manufacture of essential health products in the medical field, including rubber gloves, PVC saline infusions, syringes, ventilators, medical tubes and are also used to purify public drinking water.

INEOS produces raw materials for soap, phenol for aspirin and paracetamol and its acetonitrile is used in essential pharmaceutical analysis in the procedures necessary to find a vaccine.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of INEOS, said: “INEOS is a company with enormous resources and production skills — if we can find other ways to help fight the coronavirus, we are absolutely determined to do our part.”