LODA triples its sales of bleach in a single year
BEERSE - One company is at a standstill because of the corona crisis, another is on all fours. Loda, a producer of bleach among other things, is in the second category. Due to the massive demand for bleach as a disinfectant, the company in the Beerse-Zuid industrial estate is running at full speed.
"The federal government has now finally realised that sulphur can be used as a disinfectant," says Hans Geerts, manager at Loda. "Since then, demand here has increased enormously. The bleach can be used to clean surfaces in residential care centres and prisons, among other places."
Spring with its spring cleaning is already a busy period for Loda in Beerse every year. Due to the corona troubles, it is now more than busy.
"From the Netherlands, we are talking about doubling to 3 times as many orders," estimates Hans Geerts. "The big Belgian distributors are now even asking 3 to 4 times as much as usual."
Private individuals cannot buy directly from Loda. The cans of sulphur in various concentrations are distributed to the major supermarket chains and also via wholesalers in Belgium. "A lot of people traditionally also start spring cleaning this period and buy bleach. That now coincides with the corona crisis. But we built a new warehouse last year, which means we already had a large stock for the spring, so for now we can follow the demand. However, we are now producing extra. Our team of thirty employees is busy and the six production lines are running at full speed. Due to the rush, we now also have to produce on Saturdays."
Loda now always gives priority to customers in the care and welfare sector when delivering.
"This situation has brought us a few new customers, which is perhaps a good thing," says Hans Geerts. "But mainly it's about existing customers who now simply order more."
Loda, which was founded in 1930, moved from Westmalle to new premises in Beerse in June 2014.
