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From medical personal protective equipment to antibacterial cleaning supplies, the COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous stress on key products as consumers and businesses increase preventative hygiene measures and healthcare institutions care for patients.

How can companies respond in times like these? Adapt. Adapt, again. And seek out those who are willing to adapt with you.  

That’s what Milliken and Contec, Inc. have done. 

Shortly after the virus entered the U.S., not only did disinfectants for consumer use quickly become scarce, but the demand for hospital-grade antibacterial cleaning supplies continued to climb, too.  

Contec, Inc., the industry leader in critical cleaning products and cleanroom supplies, normally maintains an inventory of disinfectants at a level that enables immediate response to a major regional event, like a Category 5 hurricane. When the public became aware that COVID-19 would be a nationwide concern, the company’s inventory of disinfectants was depleted within two weeks, and the backorder timeline quickly expanded to 10 weeks.  

As an essential component to safely operate any medical facility, healthcare institutions began looking for effective alternatives to traditional cleaning and sterilization solutions.  

Contec knew they could help fill this skyrocketing demand by scaling up mass production of its Sporicidin® Brand Disinfectant Solution, most often used for mold and water damage remediation. 

Since 1978, Sporicidin Brand disinfectant products have been used for infection and contamination control by hospitals, medical and dental offices, veterinary clinics, and restoration professionals. The EPA-registered intermediate level disinfectant cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes, killing organisms like MRSA, VRE, and Avian Influenza A Virus (H9N2 and H1N1). The disinfectant also carries a Category IV EPA toxicity rating—the lowest toxicity rating given to antimicrobials. 

The supply chain required to produce Sporicidin® Brand Disinfectant Solution is complex. Raw materials must be available from which to make the disinfectant. The disinfectant must be manufactured and bottled by an EPA-registered establishment, then shipped to distributors who sell it to intended end users. Each step is handled by a selected partner, calling on an array of suppliers for essential ingredients and materials to ensure the timely availability of products.  

When Contec decided to increase production of Sporicidin® Brand Disinfectant Solution, they needed to find a new manufacturing partner who could manage mass quantities with quality and speed. 

“Disinfectants are very specialized chemical formulations that are used to protect people,” explains Matt Schiering, CMO of Contec, Inc. “Only EPA-registered companies are permitted to produce disinfectants. The right manufacturing partner has a competent group of production, quality, supply chain, regulatory, and engineering teammates who will make the product right each time.”     

So, they turned to Milliken to make it happen.

“Milliken immediately came to mind when we decided to bring on a new manufacturing partner,” shares Jack McBride, Contec, Inc. CEO. “Milliken is a trusted, key community player with the mass production, quality systems, and speed-to-market capabilities needed to help us provide critical cleaning solutions to healthcare facilities without delay.” 

“Milliken has a well-founded reputation for world-class manufacturing—delivering on commitments, sustaining win-win partnerships, and investing in the welfare of its associates and the communities where their plants are located,” Matt elaborates. “Contec’s owners started their professional careers at Milliken, so it’s no surprise that the core values of both companies are remarkably aligned.”     

Sporicidin production at Milliken began on Tuesday, May 12, after a record ramp-up of only four weeks. Typical similar partnerships require three to six months to arrange. 

Until this partnership, Milliken did not manufacture disinfectants. The team relied on their research and development expertise, manufacturing excellence, unparalleled regulatory support, and standardized processes to enable a successful scale-up transition. This intensive technical process included gaining regulatory approval from the EPA to produce disinfectants, setting up raw material supply chain partners, modifying manufacturing equipment, arranging inventory storage, and designing new training and protocols to safely produce a quality disinfectant. 

To allow for social distancing, work that could be done off site—like supply chain procurement and procedure development—took place while associates worked from home. Special planning and care was taken to enable critical on-site work, like procedure development operator training, equipment modification, and validating analytical procedures.  

All of this took place while Milliken continued to manufacture its existing products at this plant. 

“Companies are adapting their core competencies to meet the global challenges brought on by COVID-19,” says Halsey M. Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company. “Partnering with Contec, Inc. was a natural fit, and gave Milliken the opportunity to quickly reconfigure our manufacturing capabilities and rapidly solve problems for our customers and communities.”

Solving problems has been the focal point of Milliken’s Chemical Division from its start. 

In fact, Milliken’s Chemical Division originated by solving a problem for Milliken’s own Textile Division. Operators needed a way to tell if textile treatments were properly applied, but they didn’t want to impact the final product. Washable colorants, later known as Versatint®, solved that problem and put Milliken on the map as color experts. Today, more sophisticated polymeric color chemistry, like Milliken’s Creative Colorants, Liquitint®, and Reactint® colorants can be found in everyday consumer products, from washable children’s markers to home cleaning detergents and polyurethane foam mattresses.

“Working on the Sporicidin project with Milliken’s team was professionally inspiring because of the determination of this team. A complex series of tasks, necessary to produce the disinfectant, was completed by a large team in only a few weeks,” Matt continues. “While collaboration tools such as Go-To-Meeting and Microsoft Teams helped to make virtual meetings feel more getting together, it was Milliken’s culture of professional excellence that drove delivery of timely results.”  

Partnering with Contec to increase the supply of hospital-grade disinfectants, which meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), is just one of the ways that Milliken has adapted its operations to help solve many of the industry challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.