With the coronavirus outbreak in full swing around the world, the local community near RPM’s headquarters in Medina, Ohio, is not immune. As the community joins together to help combat the spread of COVID-19, it continues to face shortages of hand sanitizer solutions—leading local businesses such as BKO Distillery to switch gears to help supplement this shortage.

Located just a few minutes down the road from RPM’s headquarters, BKO Distillery co-owners Ken Obloy and Brad Kochmit decided to make the switch from producing vodka to hand sanitizer after realizing they already had the necessary ingredients on hand. When RPM’s VP of Operations and Procurement Tim Kinser read a news article about BKO Distillery’s efforts, he immediately reached out to see how RPM could help.

Though the distillery had been leveraging its own alcohol supply to produce the sanitizer solution, it was in need of dispensing bottles in order to fulfill its mission. Tim Kinser, along with RPM’s Global Strategic Sourcing Manager Mike Tanis, quickly tapped their supplier network and fellow operating companies for support.

Together, Mike Tanis and Tim Kinser collaborated with RPM Wood Finishes Group and suppliers CKS Packaging and Silgan Dispensing to donate an impressive supply: 5,000 2-oz. bottles with top closures, more than 200 8-oz. bottles with top closures, and over 200 trigger-spray bottles. As a result, this allowed BKO Distillery to provide the local community—particularly frontline healthcare workers—with a free sanitizer solution that is strong enough to kill the virus.