Joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the injection molding team at A.L.P. LexaLite’s Charlevoix, MI, facility mobilized to design and manufacture Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) face shields for front-line health care workers. They rapidly reorganized tooling and manufacturing functions to support this critical need, and they expect to have the first production models coming off the presses within days.
The company was initially approached by Charlevoix Hospital, looking for PPE. While primarily a manufacturer supplying components for lighting fixtures, A.L.P. has several customers in the health care sector. The team drew on its knowledge of health care requirements and standards to quickly design and tool the face shields in an unprecedented 10-day turnaround. When in full production, A.L.P. can produce approximately 1,400 face shields per day, and they plan to sell them at cost.
“We will make them as long as they are needed,” said Steve Brown, CEO, in the press release. ““This is one scenario I didn’t see coming. The COVID-19 crisis is tragic, yet it shows us what we can accomplish together when needed.”
The A.L.P. face shield has some unique features. The plastic shield snaps onto a headband, and the shield is disposable. So, the caregiver can use the same headband throughout the day and simply snap on a new shield for each patient.
A.L.P. continues to operate during this crisis as an essential business, supplying into vital infrastructure such as construction, health care, transit, and government.