Emerald Harvest Opens Doors, Makes Sanitizer to Fight Pandemic

Emerald Harvest, the global hydroponics nutrient manufacturer, has joined the battle against COVID-19 with initiatives aimed at aiding the community, local government and national health organizations.

CEO Rob Higgins is offering the company's facilities and capabilities to the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and the government of California for storage, supply staging or medical use.

"We have space in California that we are making available in anticipation of any potential need," Higgins said. "We also have a state-of-the-art mixing and bottling facility that we can set up to help where we can." Emerald Harvest's production equipment includes deionized water systems, UV water treatment, an on-site lab and analysis capability. "We deal with chemicals and hygiene procedures every day. If someone needs our capabilities, we can help."

Emerald Harvest recently acquired a new 20,000-square-foot warehouse to accommodate higher production. The company's distributor, Hawthorne Gardening (a division of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company), has offered to remove all inventory from this warehouse to free up usable space.

Located in Santa Rosa, Emerald Harvest is no stranger to community assistance during public emergencies. California has recently borne the brunt of devastating wildfires.

"We are simply doing what we can for our community," said Emerald Harvest President David Pratt. "Families stayed in our facilities during the fires. Offering space for supplies or medical use during this pandemic is a no-brainer."

To help the hydroponics industry during the pandemic, Emerald Harvest has dedicated its stainless-steel mixing equipment?normally used for mixing fertilizers?to produce thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer. The bottles will be donated to those in need through distributor Hawthorne Gardening and hydroponics retail stores.

"Many growers, both home and commercial, and retailers have been making huge sacrifices to keep their businesses moving forward under these difficult circumstances," Higgins explained. "They have developed strategies to continue to serve their customers in a safe and healthy manner while keeping their staff safe. With the nationwide shortage of hand sanitizer and the production capacity to bottle our own, we felt that giving these away absolutely free was simply the right thing to do."

Higgins said he and his employees are reaching out to any organizations that could benefit from Emerald Harvest's facilities and capabilities. "Giving back is the right thing to do. Together, we're all part of the solution."