Raymond Corp. producing 2,000 face shields for healthcare workers, first responders—Covid-19 roundup for April 20

Material handling and logistics industry companies continue to do their part to help produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals and other workers on the front lines of the novel coronavirus pandemic, with New York-based The Raymond Corp. putting its weight into the fight in recent weeks. The maker of forklifts and other material handling equipment and solutions is using its engineering might to 3D print and assemble face shields at its Greene, N.Y., facility, the company said today.

Company President and CEO Mike Field said Raymond will produce 2,000 face shields to be dispersed to local hospitals and first responders.

“Like everyone, we at Raymond have heard the appeals for protective equipment from our local healthcare workers battling the Covid-19 pandemic,” Field said. “As an essential business, we have an acute understanding of the need worldwide to provide our heroic doctors, nurses, and first responders [with] the PPE equipment they desperately require. Raymond has the ability and desire to utilize our vast production capabilities to support those crucial employees ... We will continue to monitor the evolving situation to determine how best we can support our local healthcare heroes.”

Here’s a look at what some other industry organizations are doing to combat the coronavirus in their communities and nationwide: 

• Pallet manufacturer Pallet Consultants said its Dunn, N.C., facility has increased pallet production by 40% and doubled its workforce in response to increased supply chain demand during the pandemic. Company leaders say the facility is expanding to meet a surge in demand for pallets in manufacturing, distribution, food, and pharmaceutical supply chains. The Dunn facility, which serves the growing metropolitan Raleigh, N.C., market, has also donated medical supplies to local hospitals to help fight the pandemic. “We donated what masks we had on hand and are always on the lookout for more,” according to Justin Smith, the facility’s General Manager. Smith added that he's “seen a lot of engagement and huge support from the local community.”
• Supply chain mapping and disruption monitoring services firm Reslinc has added a partner to its online clearinghouse for PPE and other medical supplies. Healthcare group purchasing organization (GPO) Intalere is one of the newest members of The Exchange at Resilinc, a hospital-to-hospital healthcare platform that eases shortages and imbalances of medical devices and supplies. Reslinic and its partners launched the Exchange in mid-April at no cost for hospitals to join, the company said. “Like many healthcare and group purchasing organizations (GPO) nationwide, hospitals across the Intalere network are manually searching for items that are on allocation by suppliers, which is proving time consuming and has limited geographic reach,” said Bindiya Vakil, CEO and founder of Resilinc. “Resilinc is proud to collaborate with GPOs, hospitals, and government organizations to build a trusted peer-to-peer network in a collaborative environment to get quick access to much-needed medical supplies, like personal protection equipment, for frontline healthcare workers.”
• The American Trucking Associations (ATA) continued its support of truckers nationwide by joining President Trump last Thursday to recognize the role truck drivers are playing in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. During the event on the White House lawn, the President and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao praised truckers as “heroes” for their efforts during the crisis.  “In the war against the virus, America’s truckers are really the foot soldiers that are carrying us to victory,” President Trump said. “Truckers are playing a critical role in vanquishing the virus, and they will be just as important as we work to get our economic engine roaring.”

For more coverage of the coronavirus crisis and how it's affecting the logistics industry, check out our Covid-19 landing page. And click here for our compilation of virus-focused websites and resource pages from around the supply chain sector.