Kickstart: Working together

Pretty much every company we've talked to that is still up and running — even if those that have had to cut back on nonessential production — is involved in some effort to fill gaps in the medical supply chain.

Frank Esposito has a sampling of some of those companies here, making hand sanitzer, masks, personal protective gear and other items. And we know there are hundreds more.

For one example of what companies can do when they work together, 3D company Stratasys Ltd. says its has 150 companies in a coalition to produce face shields, among them Toyota Motor Co., Medtronic and Boeing.

When Stratasys first laid out plans for shield production, it set a goal of producing 5,000 at no cost to health care providers by March 27. Stratasys used both its own 3D printers and shared engineering specs with partners, combining that with a clear plastic sheet.

The team exceeded that goal of 5,000 and expects to make 11,000 shields this week and at least 16,000 the following week.

Economist Bill Wood says he doesn't want to try and analyze the world economy, and what it means for the platics industry at this time, but he's giving it a shot.

Take a look, he writes, at the "flattening the curve" chart that people are using to point out the reason behind shutdowns and social distancing. The idea is to keep cases from spiking well beyond the health care industry's ability to respond.

In areas that are hot spots for COVID-19, it's far harder to make any predictions.

But Wood says there is one area where plastics suppliers are making a difference.

"I have added a new line to the chart. This line enhances a developing story that is vitally important to the future prospects for our nation in general, and to the plastics industry in particular. My new line represents the higher level of our nation's health care capacity, and it is no longer horizontal, it has an upward slope," he writes.

COVID-19 is spurring growth for a Chicago company that was preaching the need to stop spreading viruses long before the pandemic started.

Blessed Communion supplies pre-filled, single-use communion cups — red or white grape juice along with a piece of unleavened bread — to churches who want to quell the use of shared cups during services.

"We can barely keep up with all the orders we're getting," Israel Idonije, a former defensive end for the Chicago Bears who took over Blessed Communion in 2009, told Crain's Chicago Business. "This is our Super Bowl."