Zep Plans Capacity Expansion

Zep Inc., a maker of maintenance, cleaning and sanitation and a Happi Top 50 Company, will expand production capacity of disinfectants, sanitizers and hand soaps at facilities in Desoto, TX and Emerson, GA. These plant expansions follow the recent opening of the company’s Marietta, GA facility, where disinfecting and sanitizing chemicals are produced for the food and beverage industry.

Zep says it has seen an exponential lift in demand for the company’s EPA-registered disinfectant and hand sanitizing products since the start of the global pandemic.

The company offers a wide array of solutions qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and has introduced five new disinfectants, hand sanitizers and soaps in response to COVID-19. It says it will release more than 15 additional product solutions in the coming months.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, our Zep associates and technical support team have been working exceedingly hard to provide proper cleaning and sanitizing guidance to our customers and to meet the increased demand of disinfectants and hand sanitizing products,” said Zep CEO Dan Smytka. “We expect to see this demand trend continue, and these investments will expand our production capacity to ensure that Zep has the capabilities to continue helping our valued customers and their customers to stay safe during this pandemic.”

Zep is substantially expanding hand sanitizer manufacturing capacity at the Emerson facility. This is part of a multi-year commitment to enhance capacity and operations in Georgia, including the buildout of the 600,000-square-foot distribution center in Cartersville, the 100,000 square foot Marietta production facility, and significant prior investment in the Emerson plant. This latest investment includes state-of-the art equipment installed to maximize productivity throughout every touchpoint of production including raw material receipt and storage, blending, high-speed filling in multiple sizes, packaging and delivery, said the company.

Further, Zep is quadrupling disinfectant capacity through an expansion at the facility in DeSoto, TX. Additional raw material storage and bulk blending capabilities will be added to produce disinfectants while high-speed filling lines will be added, focusing on ready to use quarts, gallons, pails, drums, and totes. A new and expanded warehouse facility will manage the logistics for this expansion, as well as an ever-growing existing business in the region.