Kickstart: There's more than one way to support communities

Two plastics companies are finding new ways to give back to their community.

MonoSol, a maker of water-soluble films used in products such as laundry pods, has launched a "Takeout Takeover" program to reward workers and help local restaurants in Indiana.

The program provides $70 to each of its 750 employees to spend on takeout at participating restaurants, which gives those companies a financial boost.

"MonoSol is an economic engine in our communities, and our employees came up with a really creative way to leverage our strength to accomplish two goals at once," CEO P. Scott Bening said.

And in Biddeford, Maine, Thermoformed Plastics of New England has been honored by Sentry Insurance Foundation for its work in providing face shields to first responders and health care workers.

The honor comes along with $2,500 in gifts to two charities of TPNE's choice: Good Shepherd Food Bank and Biddeford Food Pantry.

"We really need the money right now to purchase food. Since the coronavirus, we are up 22 to 25 percent in terms of need. We are thankful Thermoformed Plastics of New England understands about giving back to the community," said Don Bisson, Biddeford Food Pantry director.

And one last note on face shields. Students at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., working with H.P.S. Tooling of Lapeer, Mich., have developed a face shield headband and are making 1,500 a day.

But the effort on the program involved more than just the plastics school and a mold maker. Brian Pacholka, laboratory facilities coordinator for the FSU's College of Engineering Technology, said volunteers involved in the program ranged as far as a private pilot offering rapid delivery for a mold, a tow truck driver who took on the delivery job when the mold proved too heavy for the private plane, 3D printing, an accounting professor who created a form to track distribution of the shields.

At one point, the project relied on classroom supplies.

"Some of our first shields have the transparencies from overhead projectors across campus, which were collected when the project began," Pacholka said.

The group is seeking other sources for the shields. You can contact him at [email protected]

There's been a lot of pressure on North American manufacturing to turn out personal protective gear for use by first responders and workers, with mold makers, prototype specialists, packaging thermoformers, blow molders, automakers and everyone in between embracing production of face masks.

It's only to be expected, of course, that the same thing is going in other regions.

Karen Laird, the editor of our sister publication Sustainable Plastics, has a roundup of some of the activities in Europe.

Finland-based packaging specialist Huhtamaki is making face shields, on target to make 8 million a week by June. And Radici Group, based in Bergamo, Italy — one of the hardest-hit areas of COVID-19 — is part of a joint effort that is using its nylon 6 in frames for face shields.