CALDWELL, Idaho (CBS2) — Several weeks ago, Idaho's Koenig Distillery started mass-producing hand sanitizer with its vodka for St. Luke's. Now, the project is expanding to help supply other hospitals, medical facilities, and first responders across the state.
In its infancy, the partnership between Koenig and St. Luke's was intended to ensure that the hospital and its facilities had enough supply of sanitizer to last into the month of May.
But it quickly became clear to everyone involved that the demand for this product extended far beyond one hospital.
"We got inundated with phone calls," president Andy Koenig said. "People were actually banging on the doors, showing up with buckets."
So began the project's evolution.
Koenig started by producing more than 1,000 gallons of sanitizer in the first week. But because ethanol is in short supply, the distillery has since been working with partners across the country to acquire more of it to continue the process.
Some came from Connecticut. The next two tankers are coming in from Kentucky.
To date, Koenig has produced 3,600 gallons of sanitizer. Once the next shipment of ethanol comes in, the distillery will be able to crank out another 8,500 gallons.
"Whenever we get ethanol in, we make as much as we can as fast as we can to get it out," Koenig said. "The demand is so high."
Koenig said he and some 75 percent of distilleries across the country are now strictly producing hand sanitizer.
Where does the hand sanitizer go
A majority of the sanitizer produced still goes to St. Luke's, courtesy of the partnership between the two companies. However, St. Luke's has also teamed up with Premier Pharmaceuticals, a local wholesale pharmaceutical distributor, for help getting the product out to other agencies in need.
Premier Pharmaceuticals has already distributed more than 1,400 gallons of sanitizer to local hospitals, cities, police departments, fire departments, high-risk health clinics, post offices, and other first responders. President Jabob Fuchs said the company tries to prioritize its shipments based on a business's needs and overall risk or exposure level to the virus.
While they don't sell to the general public, Fuchs said Premier has already been flooded with requests from companies all over Idaho, as well as in other states. As Koenig continues to produce additional hand sanitizer in the coming weeks, Premier should, in turn, be able to distribute to even more.
All sales inquiries can be directed to sales@thepremierpharma.com
Mutual gratitude
Although it has drastically changed his company's operations, Andy Koenig said he's thankful that he has a chance to help meet a dire need in our community and beyond. His gesture has been met with a mutual gratitude from people in the Treasure Valley community.
I had a bunch of ladies write me thank you cards, and nurses from St. Luke's," Koenig said. "One man sent in a $1,000 check as a thank you." (Andy gave that check to St. Luke's so that the hospital could distribute it to an area that needed it).
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