BUCYRUS – A Bucyrus company is waging a war on germs, and so far, they’re winning the battle.
Diamond Wipes International, 1375 Isaac Beal Road, is one of the country’s leading manufacturers of wet wipes. They’re producing them at a record pace, churning out the much sought-after paper product at a 65,000-square-foot facility south of town.
Call them the Wet Wipe Wizards.
“One of the big things is we actually seem to be the hidden secret in Bucyrus,” said Monica Orewiler, human resources manager for the southern California company’s Bucyrus factory. “But I’m really excited. I honestly am. We’re growing so much.”
Diamond Wipes International, which was founded more than 20 years ago in Chino, Calif., has operated in Bucyrus since 2007. But this year has been its busiest, Orewiler said, due to the increased demand for disinfecting wipes fueled largely by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Their top-selling product now? STERIDOL Wipes. Tubs of 3-in-1 wipes designed to scrub, disinfect and sanitize surfaces and proven to be effective in killing 99.9-percent of bacteria – including what is spread by COVID-19 – in a matter of seconds, she said.
Orewiler, who pointed to a 160-count container of STERIDOL Wipes on her desk, said the handy multi-purpose product can be used at home and in the workplace. “It’s to wipe down door handles, railings, time clocks, light switches. It’s basically a disinfecting wipe and it sanitizes.”
But there’s more to Diamond Wipes’ disposable product line. The company also makes lens wipes, baby wipes and glass cleaner wipes for cars. Eyelid pads and pouches of makeup remover cloths, all individually wrapped. Even pet wipes are made and packaged by Diamond Wipes.
Many of the hand wipes can be purchased at stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but Diamond Wipes also has contracts with leading household and beauty brands, drug retailers like CVS and Walgreens, and companies such as Bausch & Lomb to manufacture their cleaning cloths, too, Orewiler said.
Diamond Wipes International was established back in 1994 by Eve Yen, who had immigrated to this country from Taiwan. She started out as a one-person operation selling hand wipes to Chinese restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Now the company, which continues to be woman-owned, is the largest wet wipe manufacturer west of the Rocky Mountains.
At its only other production facility in Bucyrus, 400-pound drums of paper are cut to size and saturated with an alcohol-based formula, depending on the item. The factory floor is lined with drums of hand sanitizer and pallets topped with products ready for the warehouse.
Two shifts currently put in 10-hour days Monday through Thursday to keep up with the demand, Orewiler said, but starting in December a weekend shift for Friday through Sunday is being added. “We hope to bring on even more employees for that shift later on,” she said.
Since January, the plant has increased its workforce from 60 to 100 full-time employees, she said. Increased production also meant the need for an additional warehouse, so now Diamond Wipes recently started leasing the old Swan Hose building on Beal Road.
Orewiler calls her employer a “family-oriented” company which has always been at the forefront of implementing new ideas and taking care of its employees – and the community. “The ideology is that it’s a big family and you take care of your own,” she said.
To that end, Diamond Wipes is planning its first Halloween event for the public called “Nightmare on Isaac Beal Road” on Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. A haunted house, maze, children’s games and other tricks and treats will be on tap, all free of charge.
“I love the fact that the people here are close and I just think it’s a good company to work for,” said Orewiler, who joined the team in January. “They’re willing to try ideas to grow, and this is definitely the time to get that foundation built.”
