SASKATOON -- Bioriginal, a Saskatoon company that regularly is in the business of nutrition, has switched gears to produce a product that’s currently hard to buy.

It has begun making sanitizer, starting with a surface cleaner and liquid hand sanitizer with plans to also produce gel hand sanitizer soon.

“We saw a shortage in the marketplace and we have some relatively close connections to the health region and we understood they were short on the product.” Bioriginal president and CEO Joe Vidal said. “We decided that we could lend a hand. We know chemistry, we know production, we know regulation, so we were able to get in and help.”

The company has been working closely with the U of S, Prairie Tide, and Poundmaker.

“There were a ton of hills to climb. Everything from manufacturing, explosion proof, and production.” Vidal said. “We moved heaven and earth in a relatively short amount of time and got it done.”

Their work has not gone unnoticed, the health region in New Brunswick contacted them to see about buying some sanitizer, and a man from Spain even reached out to see if he could get any.

Vidal says he is very proud of the way his employees have handled the transition and work load.