Minneapolis-based Allegis Corp., a manufacturer of access and security components to original equipment manufacturers, is producing face shields through its flexible products division, which it acquired in October when it bought Libertyville, Ill.-based Rhopac Fabricated Products LLC.
Allegis is producing 500 face shields per day at the facility to meet demand for personal protective equipment for workers in the manufacturing and processing sectors.
Many of Allegis' 140 employees have been working remotely and reaching out to customers about what they need to reopen their processing facilities with the lifting of stay-at home orders put into place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety equipment is a priority to prevent the spread of the potentially fatal respiratory illness until a vaccine is developed, Allegis officials said in a news release.
"We're not a face shield or a PPE manufacturer, but when our customers learned we could make a quality shield with very little lead time and do it all right here in the U.S., they immediately responded," Allegis CEO Clayton Keister said. "I'm proud of our team and their can-do spirit in getting America back to work."
The Allegis face shield consists of a clear, lightweight plastic that covers the nose, mouth and eyes with a foam cushion and an adjustable headband. All components are sourced from U.S. suppliers.
The face shields are being sold by the case in quantities of 50. Allegis officials said they have received orders from numerous manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies, so they plan to increase production for the foreseeable future.
Allegis started making face shields at the request of one its customers, Genie, a Terex brand of work lifts and platforms, which donated the first 5,000 to a 349-bed, nonprofit community hospital called Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, Wash.
"We pivoted fast to make these face shields for our customer," Rick Frank, Allegis sales director, said. "We mustered our expertise in engineering and design, sourcing and manufacturing to produce these face shields for the doctors, nurses and other front-line workers at Overlake Medical Center."
Now the company is alerting manufacturers to its new capability in Libertyville in addition to nonmetallic die-cut needs.
"If we're going to get our country moving again, we all need to be nimble and ready to adapt quickly to change," Keister said.