inUtah.org Success Story – Disinfectant Products Become a Family Affair

January 7, 2021

When COVID-19 first surfaced in the United States, disinfectant products fast became a hot commodity. But as we all know, the supply could not keep up with the demand.

When Utah businesses struggled to stay open and were desperate to get their hands on any hand sanitizer, face masks, or disinfectant wipes at whatever cost, Mike and Sandy Powell, owners of Powell Industries, started getting routine phone calls from customers asking if they knew where they could get some. 

They started searching but, of course, came up empty-handed. That was until Sandy had a lightbulb moment, and the company started producing these hard-to-find products. The couple began testing dry wipes they had in stock to determine if they worked when wet or if they would disintegrate. Thankfully it worked.

Layoffs were at an all-time high, and many of their friends and families were affected by the pandemic, so the couple enlisted their kids’ help and started an assembly line, realizing they could serve the community in another way. They started calling and posting on social media, stating they had available work for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. They were soon getting too many orders to keep up with, so they started a morning and evening crew. In total, the family was fortunate enough to help more than 70 people continue to provide for themselves and their families. 

“We feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to help so many different types of people with disinfectant wipes when nobody else was shipping,”

said Michael Powell, CEO of Powell Industries.