POET retrofitting two ethanol plants to hand sanitizer production

In Iowa, CNBC reports that POET has shifted ethanol production at two of its plants to hand sanitizer. It has closed three others and is running at 50% production capacity at several others which has forced it to lay off about 10% of its staff. The hand sanitizer conversion is an attempt to test the new market created by the COVID-19 pandemic to help offset severe demand destruction caused by stay at home orders around the country. The company’s CEO says the retrofitting costs are significant and requires taking ethanol to a bottling company, an additional link in the supply chain it hasn’t had to tackle before.