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AKRON, Ohio – Gehm and Sons is an Akron-based company with a cool past, hoping that its super-cold product will help provide a brighter future for Ohioans increasingly weary of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We went from a horse and stroller store in the early 1900s to a carbon dioxide distribution company. In the mid 1940s we went to dry ice,” co-owner Harry Gehm said.
The company makes about six million pounds of dry ice each year, using carbon dioxide and a block press to make 55-pound cubes. A pellet mill slices the blocks into small pieces, which are then stored in boxes that can hold approximately 1,200 pounds of dry ice pellets.
Demand for dry ice is hot after Pfizer announced that its vaccine would require long-term storage at minus 94 degrees. Long-term storage for Moderna’s vaccine would be minus four degrees. The temperature of the dry ice made at Gehm and Sons is minus 109 degrees.
The company recently received about 15 calls from hospitals, stores like Giant Eagle and the Ohio Department of Health, ready to place large orders of dry ice in order to efficiently store vaccine vials.
“When these hospitals receive (the vaccine), they will need dry ice in a few days, so they will need to be set up well in advance to be ready to receive a shipment,” he said.
Gehm predicts that the dry ice rush will increase sales by 10-15%.
The company has been told that ODH is preparing to order 15,000 pounds of dry ice per week.
“They are asking for between 25 and 50 pounds per container. I don’t know how many vials are in each container, but that’s what they are asking,” Gehm said.
Gehm believes his company is the only dry ice maker in Ohio, and for that reason, he believes order calls will continue to come in.
“I imagine it’s going to last a few months, especially when they say these vaccines are a double dose, so that means it’s going to take twice the time,” he says.
Rachel Feeley, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health, predicts that orders will begin around December 1 and that the dry ice will be used for the Pfizer vaccine during repackaging and transportation to suppliers throughout Ohio .
Feeley said ODH is awaiting information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine when the vaccine will be available for distribution.
The weekly cost of dry ice will be $ 1,162 per week and will be funded by funding from CARES, Feely explained.
Gehm said he was happy his company with a rich history will play a role in protecting the vaccine essential for residents.
“It’s just awesome. It’s exciting. It’s a new avenue. It’s a new adventure.”
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