From Otis Technology:
Otis Technology has partnered with Saint Lawrence Spirits to make, bottle and distribute hand sanitizer to first responders in desperate need during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Otis Technology began using its facilities – that normally manufacture firearms maintenance equipment for military, law enforcement and civilians – to immediately begin manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE).
“We’d been following the news closely in order to stay up-to-date on the virus and ensure the safety of our employees. We made the decision to temporarily cut our staff, in order to keep them at home, safe and to help flatten the curve. This decision was made just hours before Governor Cuomo announced a mandated workforce reduction,” states Larry Williams, CEO for Otis Technology.
“We also began immediately asking ourselves ‘how can we help?’ Otis is a state-of-the art facility built on innovation. We have a dedicated research and development facility that can investigate and tackle new projects and they took the task of PPE by storm. I applaud my entire team’s efforts – working around the clock to get up and running,” continues Williams.
To date, Otis Technology has donated hand sanitizer and eye shields to several localities in need – namely Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, NY), Lewis County Emergency Management, and a donation to Oswego County Emergency Management is pending. These initial donations are in close proximity to Otis’ headquarters and research & development facilities, located in Lewis and Oswego counties, respectively. A portion of hand sanitizer and PPE made will continue to be donated to first responders and hospitals in need.
Otis Technology is utilizing its logistics avenues as a defense contractor to get these urgently needed items into the hands of those on the front lines fighting this pandemic. The company is working diligently to fulfill as many orders that have come in and continue to procure more materials to keep up with demand.
In working with NYS authorities and customers alike, Otis Technology is monitoring requests for various needed items and assessing its ability to manufacture needed items. Thus far, Otis Technology has manufactured or procured face shields, facemasks, shoe covers and the aforementioned hand sanitizer in conjunction with Saint Lawrence Spirits.
Otis will continue to work diligently to expand its offering of these essential items as long as necessary in order to keep those on the front lines of this pandemic safe.
After this is over we’re going to have a glut of hand sanitizer. Purell better cash in now it’s gonna be rough in 6 months.
Unlike food, people ARE consuming a lot more sanitizer. A glut seems unlikely over the next 9 months, perhaps much longer.
So booze on the shelf will be replaced by hand sanitizer. Some of our drunks are going to be pissed.
Or just slam the hand sanitizer.
Jell-O shots man
I suppose they could also do with hand sanitizer how some alcoholics do with cases of N/A beer. Freeze it, the alcohol doesn’t freeze and rises to the top, then skim off the pure alcohol into a jar to drink.
Ron:
I would expect that the alcohol in hand sanitizer is DENATURED by adding an ingredient to make it undrinkable. A denaturing ingredient would be selected that would not easily separate from the alcohol. This is done to exempt the hand sanitizer from the TAXES that are imposed on drinkable alcohol. I had that explained to me by a chemistry professor way back in my school days.
There’s always Sterno…
You mean this stuff?
I resent that remark. “Going to be”, I’m just glad its not a distillery In Lawrenceville, KY. Otherwise it “Would be.”
But what if I need to clean my guns? or get drunk? What shall I do? (sarc)
Any tips on cleaning guns with sanitizer?
I hear heat kills it….So shoot it till it Hot!
One item I had plenty of. I always keep some in my vehicles, and bring it into the pizza buffet restaurants.
Great now that I know otis is in NY I can now take them off my Approved supplier list. The list only contains NY, NJ & CA company’s.
Although it is not crystal clear, it appears that you would prefer not to buy products from certain states. It is your money therefore your choice. It is too bad as far as Otis goes though, They are decent folks with a good product. Since they started from scratch, the facility could have located anywhere in the world. Instead they choose a small, local, paper mill town in upstate New York. The paper mill is gone but Otis is still there.
I live about 15 miles from the factory and expect the usual “get out of the state” comments but my kids are within easy driving distance and our home is paid for. It is quite pretty up here and I am closer to Montreal than NYC.
The county is about the size of Rhode Island but rather than 1,000,000 people we have about 28,000. It is home to more cows than humans and has 8 traffic lights. When I cross the road bordering our property, I am on 76,000 acres of public land. I can turkey hunt, fish and hike on the same day without getting into my truck.
When my weapons are cleaned it is with an Otis product and I think Otis deserves a little credit regardless of their location.
it would be nice if the governor of New York would ask NY gun manufacturers like Remington if they would produce the medical supplies that the state currently needs. But that would financially benefit an arms manufacturer.
Better to keep them closed and prevent them from producing anything at all. Which is his real goal.
Chris T in KY:
It doesn’t work that way. Production of medical supplies requires different equipment than that for the production of firearms. Manufacturers like Remington would have to completely retool at a horrendous cost. So, there is no benefit in it for them. Also, the crisis would be over (hopefully) before they could get medical equipment production up and running, even if they were able to undertake the job.
The equipment to make Singer sewing machines in 1942 was not the same equipment to make handguns and rifles. But the Singer sewing machine company made it happen in record time.
There have been many books and articles over the decades written about the civilian conversion to military production practically overnight during World War II.
Totally different from manufacturing medical supplies from a firearms factory… but a sewing machine factory turning out rifles??…. much easier…
.
“There have been many books and articles over the decades written about the civilian conversion to military production practically overnight during World War II.
You’re absolutely right. BUT it took billions of $$$ with Uncle Sugar footing the bill using borrowed money. And, George W. is right. What you are suggesting is totally different from the Singer WWII experience. Remington would have to scrap ALL of their existing machinery and start over from scratch.
otis is an up and down business model, pushing all the right buttons.
Its not the elevator otis. Different company
That *woosh* sound you just heard?
Denver Riggleman, the bigfoot paraphilia congress critter from my home state has been doing this at his distillery…I believe they’ve been providing it free to communities and services in need and selling to consumers. Not a big fan of the bigfoot geek but it was a good move and appreciated.
https://www.sbdistillery.com
The only thing I haven’t found in the last few weeks is alcohol for sanitation. Good thing we got hydrogen peroxide! Anywho good for Otis.
Good for them!
Been hearing of some local distillers turnign their production line into making hand sanitizer. They have to combine the alcohol with some other stuff to make a gel, and maybe add some aloe vera so it is easier on the skin. One small vodka maker is filling any empty hand sanitizer people bring to them at $1.50 an ounce.
Let me me preface this comment before I start in. I was both a street medic and a licensed Respiratory Therapist. Between the talking heads and our fearless leader(s) in DC everyone is talking about manufacturing facilities being converted to build ventilators. The logic is we could turn industries around like they did during WW2. Ain’t gonna happen. Ventilators are a seriously precision device. Remember, this is a life critical device. You don’t get do-overs if you screwup patient ventilation. though this a major emergency medical devices MUST meet FDA and international standards. Ventilators are not widgets. Inspiratory and expiratory pressures and volumes, timing and duration of said volumes and pressures, PEEP (peak end expiratory pressure), O2 concentration, add moisture to air/O2, have fail safes and alarms and common industry standard patient interface. VERY important is the function and interface for the caregivers. It’s probable that caregivers, due to fatigue and illness, may not have an in-depth knowledge of the ventilators settings and function. Varying region to region or hospital to hospital you may have any combination of ventilators physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and maybe paramedics. Some of these battle weary professionals may even be rotated to multiple facilities to fill-in where they need staff. They’re even bringing retired or previously experienced professionals to act as a relief crew. I’m not saying there are no companies that can’t be transitioned, there just has be a commonality of talent and manufacturing capabilities. Oh, almost forgot: proper supportive ventilation has a large part in maintaining pH. The human body has a narrow range of pH values from 7.35-7.45.
I was never a Respiratory Therapist, but I have run a bag-valve mask on a patient for hours and hours, swapping off with other team members. As an EMT and SAR team leader doing wilderness work, plus a local FD, over twenty years I got to see a few things.
At the same time all that was one of two parallel careers, the other being a mixed technologies engineer in several high tech industries. In the course of my 40+ years in this field I’ve been involved in bringing up and taking down factories, fixing production line troubles, developing new products and transferring both technology and methods from one facility to a startup.
In all that, I have learned it is possible to rapidly bring up a factory manufacturing a precision, mixed technology and highly complex device. But it is not easy, nor cheap.
I’d agree that a metal working plant would not be a good choice for the sophistication of a ventilator. On the other hand, the partnership between Ventec Life Systems and General Motors looks very doable to me. Ventec has the advanced design, FDA approved and much sought after. GM has electronics manufacturing, they do not simply put mechanical things together. With so very much of the technology transfer requirements now being in electronic files that can directly be fed to CNC machines and industrial 3D printers, the ability to spread the work out to subcontractors is even easier today than in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Ventec’s facility is aiming for a nine or ten fold increase from their previous rate of 150 units a month. GM estimates 10,000 a month, with the next 30 days being build-out of a production line and ramping up.
It is possible.
Now if only we could get some people making nitrile gloves, non-permeable gowns and aprons, face shields and N95 masks …
OMG! There will be a solvent shortage! Better stock up now!
So it’s grain and not wood alcohol, cool getting drunk on wood alcohol just about makes me die, belch puke fart sicker then he’ll, Listerine is eleven per cent. Next time I see some of these local kids sucking on a bottle of hand sanitizer I ll go party with them. Younger weman, faster horses and older whiskey.
LEOs are also civilians.
some dude from china here
the simple soap works well on this virus
if you dont work outside
no need for liquid soap
they are for dude needing disinfect their hands frequently
Please remember that overuse of hand sanitizer may lead to your skin getting so dry that it cracks, allowing germs in. It’s also not a good idea that you are removing the essential oils that your skin needs to stay healthy, and keep Invaders out!
Soap and water has been proven to be more effective against COVID-19 than hand sanitizer (it depends on what chemical is being used in the sanitizer). Soap breaks down the outer layer of the virus and allows it to be killed. Wash for at least 20 seconds.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use hand sanitizer. I’m saying that you should use soap and water as your first choice, and use sanitizer if soap and water are not available. Me, I keep a small bottle of sanitizer in the center console of my car, and another in my coat pocket.