Circle Logistics, an asset-based full-service logistics company, says it recently leveraged its newly created bulk division to help Sandymount Technologies shift to transporting ethanol used for making hand sanitizer.
Sandymount is a Massachusetts-based technology provider for the brewing industry.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Sandymount pivoted to starting a hand sanitizer business called COVID-19 RESPONSE LLC, and it needed a reliable fulfillment center and specialized expertise to handle the regulations and sensitive shipments of the ethanol it was transporting, so the company turned to Circle.
“With Circle’s help, we have been able to reduce costs by 50% by consolidating shipments, boosting savings four times over by shifting from expedited shipments to less-than-truckload,” said Ronan McGovern, chief executive officer at Sandymount. “We’ve shipped over 1 million bottles of hand sanitizer in just three months, including 80 pallets per day at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Circle is great at thinking outside of the box to help us with unique situations when we need help.”
Ethanol shipping has become a specialty for Circle during the pandemic. In May, it launched a bulk division to ship ethanol nationwide for hand sanitizer production, distributing 1.5 million gallons by the end of June as part of its response to COVID-19.
“We helped COVID-19 RESPONSE identify the most cost-effective methods to manage all of its freight efficiently—including its latest foray into hand sanitizer shipping—and get their final product into the marketplace more quickly at a time when it really matters,” said Joe Donnell, vice president of sales and operations at Circle.
The logistics company started with shipping loads for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while also providing the agency and its partners with real-time visibility of medical supply and grocery shipments.
“Hand sanitizer is a crucial part of the pandemic response for medical workers, logistics professionals and first responders, and ethanol is the key ingredient to maintaining the national supply,” said Eric Fortmeyer, president and chief executive officer at Circle.
“The bulk ethanol division is part of Circle’s COVID-19 response program across transportation modes to our customers, including FEMA.”