Metro East Sun

A distillery in rural Columbia has entirely shifted its business to making hand sanitizer to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. 

Stumpy's Spirits Distillery has begun making its own hand sanitizer that contains 80% alcohol, according to Republic Times. 

"It will basically just be production and packaging for the foreseeable future, day and night," Adam Stumpf, owner of the distillery, told Republic Times. 

But Stumpf isn't working alone. The distillery partnered with the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville and its Executive Director John Caupert. 

Caupert said he reached out to Stumpf because NCERC wanted to make hand sanitizer and had the ingredients, but lacked the means to package and distribute it. Stumpf had the resources to package and distribute hand sanitizer, but would have a difficult time obtaining all the necessary ingredients for the hand santitzer itself. 

This led the two groups to form a partnership to produce and distribute the product together. 

"We were able to put together a group solution that is far more effective than our individual efforts would have been," Stumpf told the Republic Times.. "I think we have the opportunity to make a real and significant impact here."

Caupert said he was glad the partnership was formed and agreed with Stumpf that is could make a difference. 

"NCERC looks forward to working with Stumpy's Distillery," Caupert said when the two groups announced the partnership, the Republic Times reported. "Together, we will assist the region, state and nation in defeating the coronavirus spread."

The groups aren't producing hand sanitizer for a profit, Stumpf, but they are trying to cover their costs while offering a service to the community. 

"There's a huge need for it," Stumpf told Republic Times. "If it's not on the store shelves, that means the institutions that need it, essential businesses and all those types of places are going to need it too."