'Covid-19 vaccine will not reduce demand for hand sanitiser'

'We have all changed our attitude when it comes to hand washing and the importance of using sanitiser in public'

Tony Barry with disinfecting equipment in the Sanitise Ireland showroom at St Patrick's Woollen Mills, Douglas, Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

A potential vaccine for Covid-19 will not reduce demand for sanitising products a Cork businessman has said.

Tony Barry, who runs Designer Tiles, Douglas and Top Tile in Cork is one of the thousands of businesses that were forced to rethink their operations due to the impact of the global pandemic.

With the health emergency putting the focus on cleanliness and huge demand for sanitiser he established sanatiseireland.ie which produces a range of products that covers everything from personal use in the home to sanatising the car and industrial solutions.

“Sanitiser is a preventative measure and will always be so, even if a vaccine is found for Covid-19,” he said.

“In fact, we are probably far more aware now of the importance of good hand hygiene, the importance of disinfecting surfaces, etc, because of the pandemic, so our products will survive this because they are simply a form of increasing the standard of sanatision all around us.

“We are offering solutions with our products and that is a huge aspect to all of this - solution.” 

Currently supplying a number of schools in Munster the company is targeting more contracts into the future. It was only when Tony was faced with having to diversify in an effort to protect the jobs of over 200 staff that he saw the opportunities that came with sanitising products.

He says that while antimicrobial touch machines are “all the rage now” and can be seen in many places including airports and sports grounds they are also part of future solutions.

“This is something that I would see not just in airports but in hotels and other public spaces regardless of whether there is a vaccine or not,” he said.

The Munster businessman says that creating a “sense of cleanliness” in public spaces is also a key factor.

“It’s also about creating a sense of cleanliness for people and that helps to make them feel more secure when they are out and about,” he continued.

“Procedure is crucial and so is following procedure; if we all followed procedure then a lot of our public spaces would be opened up again - sanitisation is very much part of that now and will be going into the future.

“A vaccine is not going to affect my business. We have all changed our attitude when it comes to hand washing and the importance of using sanitizer in public whether that is on our person, or in the elevators or stairs that we are using, ATMS, vending machines, etc - there will be a demand for products like ours as we move forward.”