Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) today announced that
Southeastern Container, a PET preform and bottle manufacturing
co-operative funded and managed by a group of Coca-Cola bottlers,
has begun producing test tubes for use in COVID-19 kits. Utilizing
several injection molding preform tools, the manufacturing
co-operative has already produced over 7 million tubes for testing
kits.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborated
with Oak Ridge National Lab to identify manufacturers who could
address a supply chain gap of COVID-19 test collection tubes to
support the increasing testing needs of States. Lonnie Love, lead
scientist for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s COVID-19 advanced
manufacturing initiatives said, “When the US Dept. of Health and
Human Services reached out to ORNL for assistance in finding a
COVID-19 test tube solution, we considered several options to help
industry scale up production. Through a personal connection and
discussions with Coca-Cola Consolidated, we determined the preform
that goes into a blow molding machine to make Coca-Cola bottles
looked exactly like the test tube needed for the COVID-19 testing
kits.”
At ORNL’s request, Coca-Cola Consolidated provided samples of
their preforms and the laboratory worked with COVID-19 testing
company Longhorn Vaccine-Diagnostics to confirm that the tubes met
test kit criteria.
“There is a global shortage of cryotubes available to meet the
need for our PrimeStore Molecular Transport Medium, said Dr. Luke
T. Daum, Chief Scientific Officer at Longhorn Vaccines. “Coke
bottlers have done what no other vialing company could do—In a few
short days, they have fabricated a small, ruggedized vial from a
plastic preform that does not leak, is large enough to hold any
swab type, and importantly, they can make millions of tubes per
week,” said Daum.
“Within 24 hours Longhorn called us and said, “Coke is it!’”
Love said. “It’s this type of collaboration that shows the true
impact of industry and national laboratories working together. ORNL
and Coca-Cola bottlers solved a huge problem. Coca-Cola bottlers
had an answer to a problem they did not know existed, and by
connection with ORNL, they will now be supplying millions of
preforms for COVID-19 testing kits throughout the US.”
“In every community across our country, the local Coca-Cola
bottler has always been active in serving its community – and this
crisis is no different,” said Dave Katz, President & COO of
Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the U.S.
“Through a series of personal connections, we discovered the
opportunity to contribute to the effort to increase COVID-19
testing capacity quickly. For over a hundred years, our family of
Coca-Cola bottlers has been honing the production process to serve
consumers, and we are honored and excited to pivot that expertise
to helping keep Americans safe and healthy.”
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing
Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory worked with
Coca-Cola Consolidated to determine whether soda bottle preforms,
which are small plastic tubes heated and blown into a bottle shape
to hold carbonated beverages, can be used as test tubes in COVID-19
kits. These kits include a swab, saline solution and a plastic tube
to enclose the swab during transport. Soda bottle preforms are the
perfect size to hold the long COVID-19 swab. The soda bottle
preforms also contain a screw-top cap that is tamper-proof and
safely seals the tube, preventing leakage and exposure during
transport.
Once the test tubes are produced, sterilization is usually
required before they can be used in test kits. Sandia National
Laboratories, a Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security
Administration lab with headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M., is using
its Gamma Irradiation Facility and a team of radiation science
experts to develop protocols for sterilizing the preforms without
damaging the materials.
“This collaboration is going to be key for plugging gaps in the
supply chain for COVID-19 tests,” said Randy Schunk, lead engineer
for Sandia’s COVID-19 advanced manufacturing projects. “Gamma
irradiation is an efficient and common way to sterilize medical
supplies in bulk. Sandia is doing the research and development to
find the right level of gamma radiation to sterilize the tubes
without damaging the components, plastic or the tubes’ seals.”
Sandia’s protocols will be shared with medical sterilization
facilities around the country that receive tubes from Southeastern
Container to sterilize.
ORNL engaged a diagnostic company, Longhorn Vaccines-Diagnostics
in San Antonio, Texas to confirm that the soda bottle preforms are
compatible with their COVID-19 testing systems. Five testing
companies that conduct COVID-19 tests within the US are currently
in line to begin using the preforms. ORNL conducted additional
testing on the tubes confirming that the preforms were leak proof
and that bacteria growth could be prevented by heating to a high
temperature or cleaning with an ethanol solution.
The preforms will be manufactured by
Southeastern Container (SEC), based in North Carolina, which is a
co-operative funded and managed by a group of Coca-Cola bottlers.
SEC can produce over 7 million test tubes per week, helping to
reach US testing goals.
ORNL’s collection tube manufacturing research efforts are
conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services and funded in part by the DOE Office of Science
through the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory, a consortium
of DOE national laboratories focused on response to COVID-19, with
funding provided by the Coronavirus CARES Act.
For illustration of the Coca-Cola
bottling process, using preforms as test tubes, please
visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk6HIifwwY8&feature=youtu.be
About Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.
Coca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the
United States. Our Purpose is to honor God, serve others, pursue
excellence and grow profitably. For 118 years, we have been deeply
committed to the consumers, customers and communities we serve and
passionate about the broad portfolio of beverages and services we
offer. We make, sell and deliver beverages of The Coca-Cola Company
and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors to
approximately 66 million consumers in territories spanning 14
states and the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Charlotte,
NC, Coca-Cola Consolidated is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select
Market under the symbol “COKE.” More information about the Company
is available at www.cokeconsolidated.com. Contact: Kimberly Kuo,
Kimberly.Kuo@cokeconsolidated.com, 704-557-4584.
About Southeastern Container, Inc.
(SEC) – Formed as a co-operative by a group of
independent Coca- Cola bottlers to produce PET packaging in the
early 80’s, SEC has grown to be one of the world’s largest and most
respected PET processors. Today, SEC ships PET preforms and bottles
to over 50 Coca-Cola bottling and co-packing operations in the
United States and Canada, covering 34 states and six Canadian
provinces. With headquarters in North Carolina, SEC has other
locations in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and a second location in
North Carolina. www.secontainer.com/ Contact: Doug Wehrkamp,
President, djw@secontainer.com, 828-775-2966.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) –
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of
Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of
basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is
working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our
time. For more information, please visit
https://energy.gov/science/. Contact: Jennifer Burke,
burkejj@ornl.gov, 865-414-6835.
About Sandia National Laboratories – Sandia
National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by
National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security
Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development
responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense,
energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main
facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
For more information, visit https://www.sandia.gov/news/index.html.
Contact: Kristen Meub, klmeub@sandia.gov, 505-239-1671.
About Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics -
Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics is an innovative molecular
tool, assay and vaccine development company focused on serving
unmet critical needs in both developed and developing nations.
Longhorn’s core product, PrimeStore® Molecular Transport Medium
(MTM), is a patented, FDA approved, state-of-the-art ambient
temperature molecular diagnostic collection and transport device
that can help governments, global health organizations and drug
manufacturers improve the diagnosis and treatment of infectious
diseases such as mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) and Influenza.
Unlike standard devices for collecting and transporting TB samples,
PrimeStore® MTM is the first molecular transport device that can
safely deactivate pathogens and stabilize RNA and DNA, allowing
enhanced point of care and ambient temperature transport for
laboratory based molecular testing and characterization. Longhorn
is based in Bethesda, Maryland with the research and development
facility in San Antonio, Texas. Contact: Jeff Fischer, President,
jeff@lhnvd.com, (301) 233-1551.
MEDIA CONTACTKimberly Kuo SVP Public
AffairsKimberly.kuo@CokeConsolidated.com704-557-4584
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