Australia’s Niche Champions: Cleaning up with collaboration

In the era of COVID-19, the world’s eyes are on the companies that are creating the products necessary to ensure everyone’s safety every day.

Manufacturers of medical-grade disinfectants and industrial cleaning products are playing a crucial role in combating the pandemic, yet not all companies are equal.

While major multinationals in the United States and Europe have been working to meet the growing global disinfectant and cleaning product demand, mid-sized Australian manufacturer Whiteley Corporation has been meeting this demand and preparing for the future.

The company specialises in hygiene, cleaning and infection control products, focussing on medical and industrial applications, putting it in competition with corporate giants like 3M, Johnson & Johnson, EcoLab, and S.C. Johnson and Son.

Whiteley Corporation recently rose to prominence after its hospital-grade disinfectant, Viraclean, was the first Australian product legally allowed by the Therapeutic Goods Association to say it killed COVID-19. This heavy-duty disinfectant proving a boon to transport companies, such as Qantas, in ensuring its planes are effectively sanitised to be safely reused by new passengers.