Cumberland County, NJ (June 15, 2020) A one of a kind South Jersey partnership is helping to meet the COVID-19 related safety needs of firefighters and emergency medical technicians in Cumberland County. Amcor’s Millville plant located at 625 Sharp Street and Pine Tavern Distillery located at 149A Pine Tavern Road in Monroeville have combined forces to manufacture and package alcohol based hand sanitizer being provided to the Cumberland County Office of Emergency Management. Gabiel Scarpa, Cumberland County Director of Emergency Services and Public Safety stated, “COVID-19 has created a large demand for hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol content, often leading first responders scrambling for a supply.”
Cumberland County Freeholder Director Joseph Derella, in explaining the unique nature of this partnership stated, “Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical and other products, has joined forces with a family owned and operated Salem County Distillery to create what is literally a life-saving product for our first responders.”
Jim Kallicragas, Plant Manager at Amcor Rigid Packaging, described the partnership as follows: “Our team at the Amcor plant in Millville partnered with Pine Tavern Distillery and purchased 100 gallons of hand sanitizer to fill plastic bottles made at our Millville facility, which were then donated to the Cumberland County OEM for distribution to first responders”. Kallicragas added, “Although Amcor is a global company with tens of thousands of employees world-wide, we are successful because of the commitment we have to our customers and, as demonstrated by our Millville team, our people have to the local communities in which we live and work.”
Pine Tavern Distillery is located on family owned Hidden Pond Farm and is described by proprietor Bob Schmid as, “the first legally operated distillery in Salem County and New Jersey’s first farm based distillery since Prohibition”. Pine Tavern Distillery features “Muddy Run Jersey Style Spirits”, handcrafted in small batches using primarily local ingredients, many grown on the family farm, as well as “Fenwick’s New Salem Spirits” distilled in Kentucky, barrel aged, and bottled at Pine Tavern Distillery.
Freeholder Director Derella concluded, “A partnership between a worldwide manufacturing company and a family farm based craft distillery to benefit our fire fighters and emergency medical service providers is yet another example of what makes our community so special.”
Pictured from left to right: Michael Donato, President, Cumberland County Fire Chief's Association; Jim Kallicragas, Plant Manager, Amcor Rigid Packaging; Bill Cox, Head Distiller, Pine Tavern Distillery; Gabriel Scarpa, Director, Cumberland County Department of Emergency Services & Public Safety; Jeffrey Reinius, Operations Manager, Amcor Rigid Packaging
Also present (not pictured): Ms. Bergetta Scavelli, HR Manager, Amcor Rigid Packaging