5 October 2021
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Mervue Laboratories in Cork, the producers of Gelguard, donated 20,000 100ml bottles of their hand sanitiser to UCC to help keep students Covid-free as they returned to education this month.
The Cork-based animal nutrition company pivoted part of their manufacturing plant to produce hand sanitiser in partnership with Irish Distillers to answer Ireland’s call at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mervue Laboratories were the first and primary supplier to the HSE, Defence forces, Tusla and the Department of Welfare, and have produced over 8 million bottles to date.
Mervue, based at Watergrasshill in North Cork, researches, develops and manufactures more than 400 cutting-edge drug free nutrition based health products for production animals, pets, horses and camels in more than 60 countries worldwide, so they had the technical and manufacturing abilities at their fingertips.
Pictured are: Alex Angland, Roisin Keady and Leah Aston of UCC Peer Support with samples of the Sanitiser
Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision
William Twomey, Commercial Director, Mervue Laboratories, pictured in their facilities, Watergrasshill, Co. Cork.
Picture Clare Keogh
Commenting on the donation, worth over €40,000, Director of Mervue Laboratories William Twomey, who is himself a graduate of UCC, said “It has always been part of our policy to give back, so we are delighted to partner with the Student’s Union in UCC to help protect their students as they return on campus.”
Paul Moriarty, Director of the Student Experience, University College Cork, said, “UCC is delighted to receive such a generous donation from Mervue Laboratories, which not only helps students to stay safe, but also helps to spread the message of keeping safe at this time.”
The privately owned company, which was developed out of a demand for antibiotic substitution, is now one of the fastest growing nutraceutical companies in the world, with a year-on-year growth rate of over 15%.
