The Illinois-based material handling equipment dealer MH Equipment Co. has used its corporate charity program to support several initiatives during the economic shutdowns and shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

First, the firm launched a campaign to address food shortages faced by community food banks and pantries during the coronavirus emergency. The company’s "Purpose Unites” program allows employees to automatically deduct part of their paychecks to support local food banks. Along with donations from the company's His First Foundation charitable program, the effort raised nearly $187,000 across 33 office locations in just four days.

Second, the company’s charity arm paid many of MH Equipment's own employees to perform volunteer community service, using spare time they experienced due to a drop in demand during the recession. MH Equipment compensated them for more than 4,000 hours of paid, volunteer community service time across several Midwest states throughout the month of April. Those tasks included: helping food banks with loading/unloading trucks, meal delivery, and packaging; making masks; mowing yards for the elderly and non-profit organizations; and using their technical skills to assist with light mechanical work on fire engines at volunteer fire departments.

"One of the pillars of MH Equipment is 'People Matter’," company CEO John Wieland said in a release. "Our employees have worked hard over the years to build a successful company, and it is only natural for the company to stand by our employees during this unique economy and not lay off any employee due to Covid-19."

And in other examples of the logistics industry dedicating its assets to the coronavirus fight:

• Truck drivers moving in and out of hot zones to perform essential work are receiving personal protective equipment (PPE) thanks to a collaboration between DDC FPO, a back office partner for the transportation industry, and Truckers Emergency Assistance Responders (TEAR), a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded with the mission to help truck drivers in distress. TEAR has built and deployed a network of corporate sponsors and volunteers to source, assemble, and distribute PPE kits to truck drivers on the front lines. Delivered at truck stops and rest areas, each PPE kit includes masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, antiseptic wipes, and snacks. "The drivers are so appreciative," TEAR leader Desiree Wood said. "They spend all day by themselves, and aren't used to receiving anything for free, let alone being recognized. They are thrilled to receive the kits." 
• Chocolate retailer The Hershey Co. has committed $1 million to acquire, install, and staff a new manufacturing line dedicated to the production of facemasks during the Covid-19 emergency. Leveraging its internal engineering capabilities, and its relationships with equipment manufacturer JR Automation and General Motors, who is making similar masks, the company is moving quickly to address the nationwide shortage of protective equipment. When it becomes operational near the end of May, the Hershey, Pennsylvania-based line will be capable of producing up to 45,000 masks per day. “Disposable masks will be an integral piece of protecting the health and safety of our employees, their families and our community as we move forward over the weeks and months ahead,” Hershey’s chief supply chain officer, Jason Reiman, said in a release. “Changing how we work, and adding this capability is a testament to the adaptability of our team, and our desire to make a difference.”
• Industrial equipment and technology provider Honeywell International Inc. has developed a temperature monitoring solution that conducts non-invasive, preliminary screening of people entering a facility, to protect employees and enable a restart of businesses following the Covid-19 emergency. The ThermoRebellion system uses infrared imaging technology and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to detect elevated body temperature and validate if an individual is wearing proper PPE. The system can be rapidly deployed at the entryway of a factory, airport, distribution center, stadium, or other commercial building to quickly identify whether personnel exhibit an elevated facial temperature as they pass in front of a high-resolution, thermal imaging camera. Honeywell is piloting the platform at two of its own U.S. production facilities, including the company's new N95 face mask manufacturing center in Phoenix, Arizona. "Protecting worker safety is the top priority for any building operator and today, more than ever, managers are looking for innovative solutions to enhance their health screening processes," Renaud Mazarguil, president of Honeywell's Gas Analysis and Safety business, said in a release. "We've developed this breakthrough technology to automate and streamline the monitoring of an individual's temperature and reduce the need for invasive monitoring.”
• Supply chain technology provider Trimble Inc. has launched a free web app that displays truck stop status and amenity information, allowing truck drivers to find essential break locations, showers, and restaurants. The information comes as many break locations have closed completely or have shuttered certain amenities during the coronavirus crisis. Currently available on desktop or mobile devices in North America only, the “Covid-19 Safe Haven Web App” is intended to help the transportation community understand which locations are closed and which conveniences are open. Drivers can also use the platform to: find Walmart locations with overnight parking, view live traffic and weather, or help their peers by reporting location closings.
• Kentucky material handling equipment vendor Lauyans and Co. Inc. says its Chainveyor overhead conveyor system is being used in the fight against the Covid-19 virus. In an application beyond its typical use in manufacturing and paint systems, the platform is part of an application that sterilizes medical fabric such as gowns, masks, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) as it travels by overhead conveyor between a series of ultraviolet (UV) decontamination lamps, the company said.

To see further 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.