Jan. 28—GREEN VALLEY — A company that will eventually manufacture its products in Mercer County and employ up to 500 people showed members of the Mercer County Board of Health part of its product line earlier this week.

Australian Bruce Smyth, owner of ESC Brands, and Jim Chamberlain, the company's director of operations, told board members its products are revolutionizing the anti-viral and anti-microbial market.

The Lexington, N.C.,-based industry specializes in the development of those products, and started Phase 1 of a three-phase plan that will eventually include a new 200,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility at the Blue Prince Plaza site beside the Mercer County Health Department.

"Our hope is ... at full production, when we go into live production here, we will employ probably close to 500," Chamberlain said. "It will obviously be a lot of construction and a lot of growth, and that is our goal."

The announcement of the company located in the vacated space at Blue Prince Plaza was made in June 2021.

Smyth said the facility is initially a storage and distribution center for the company products, which include cleaners, sanitizers, disinfectants, pet care products, insect repellents and specialized coatings.

"In essence, our company makes unique sanitizing products," he said at the time, and products stored here are distributed to the eastern part of the country. Other warehousing facilities are in Lexington, N.C. and Chino, Calif.

Chamberlain told the board Wednesday that state Sen. Chandler Swope, R-6th District, has been the "leading advocate" for the company and led the charge to urge the company to locate a facility here.

"We are still waiting on things from China, and equipment and tanks," he said of the slow progress.

Chamberlain said the anti-microbial products like hand sanitizers and disinfectants are part of a wide variety for various uses.

"We cover most of the product lines, both on the FDA (Federal Drug Administration), meaning products that on your skin, and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), products for surfaces," he said.

The products have a different, patented technology, he said, based on a "mechanical kill" of a virus combined with an electrical charge.

Results from the technology are based on many studies.

"We are very safe, safe for the environment and safe on human skin," he said, and the products using the new technology do not contain alcohol, although they do also have products that do.

One of the big advantages of the new technology as compared to alcohol-based products, he said, is that once the alcohol dries, it has no value.

But ESC Brands hand sanitizer products continue to kill after they are dry, for at least four hours on skin, and for 28 days or more on surfaces.

All products are competitively priced and used in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and schools.

Smyth said other products work in laundry and one product treats wounds by accelerating the healing process.

He also said some products are still waiting the final go-ahead from the EPA.

The company's plan is not moving as fast as he hoped, he said, because the FDA and EPA did not fast-track the process as was expected because of manpower issues so they are still waiting for approval.

Phase II will be a separate lab facility in the plaza that will work with both Marshall University and West Virginia University in analyzing new viruses and bacteria.

In Phase III, the "fully blown" manufacturing facility will be constructed, creating silicon and other products that will be distributed worldwide. This is the phase that will see the bulk of the employees hired.

Smyth is hoping to see local support of their products.

"I think they have got a pretty big plan for the future of our county," board of health Chair Dr. Randy Maxwell said.

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com