Area manufacturers shift during COVID-19 to make face shields

Nurses, doctors and other frontline health care workers have made increasingly urgent pleas in recent weeks for critical supplies, from face masks to ventilators. Face shields have also emerged as a key need during the pandemic. The shields protect users from splatters and splashes by providing a barrier for the people wearing them. Another benefit: They protect hard-to-come-by face masks.

With the need for face shields mounting nationwide, two area firms are taking up the challenge. They’re shifting resources — employees, materials and facilities — to focus on building capacity for making face shields. Prior to the pandemic, they didn’t make face shields, but now, in the space of days, they do. And these companies are laser focused on getting as many face shields out to market as possible.

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