GREENWARE Creates PPE

July 21st, 2020 by JoAnn Cranson

Submitted by: Dawn Hinz

Team Athletic Mentors/Greenware is proud of all of our Sponsors for stepping up and adjusting to the dynamic changes of this year. We thoroughly appreciate the support we have received from them. It enables us to encourage healthy living; albeit from a distance this year. In past years, Team Athletic Mentors gave back to the community by volunteering at multiple events including Team Athletic Mentors Greenware’s Youth Programs.  Along with Greenware’s willingness to give back to the community, they stepped forward during this critical time to create Personal Protective Equipment to keep people safe and healthy amidst the COVID Crisis.

Fabri-Kal is a local company that was incorporated in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when they purchased the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company’s plastic segment and set up shop in 5,000 square feet.  

The first products Fabri-Kal produced were paint cups for the paint-by-number industry. The company soon expanded into manufacturing polystyrene meat trays and pizza lids and then diversified into proprietary stock packaging products, including plastic cups and lids. 

In 1961 the company expanded to a 25,000 square foot manufacturing facility on East Cork Street in Kalamazoo. 

In 2005 Fabri-Kal recognized the need to create plastic-like products from renewable sources. That’s when they created GREENWARE; a plastic made from annually renewable plants, not petroleum. Greenware is created from PLA; polymerized lactic acid from corn sugar. PLA is perfect for making biodegradable products such as cups, lids, and to-go boxes.

When COVID struck in early 2020 there was a surge in need for Personal Protective Equipment. While Greenware’s PLA is a fabulous product, it is not the best choice for every application. It’s too brittle to form plastic face shields. That didn’t stop Greenware from moving forward to find a way to manufacture face shields by the thousands.

Greenware under Fabri-Kal collaborated with Tekna and Schupan, who are experts in design & manufacturing of medical products to create a new product; face shields. They quickly decided on using Pete #4 Plastic which is flexible, clear and perhaps more importantly highly recyclable.

Since late January Greenware has sold out of the 4,000 face shields it produces daily!

 


Total Plastics Int’l Protecting The Frontline

April 29th, 2020 by JoAnn Cranson

By:  Dawn Hinz

Athletes view physical training as a means to sharpen mental fortitude; to see obstacles as challenges to be overcome. This applies to workouts and to life.  Total Plastics Int’l rose to the recent challenge of a worldwide pandemic by creating and producing protective equipment on a large scale. While they might not be interacting face to face with confirmed COVID patients they are doing their utmost to protect those who are.

Overall, TPI’s collective focus has been on getting face shields made and out the door as quick as possible.They started to see serious demand after March 13th, when many states implemented the “Stay At Home” mandate, including school closures. They’ve shipped more than 2 million face shields in the past month, a number that’s continuing to grow. They credit their production teams for getting the face shields into the hands of medical professionals as quickly as they did.

TPI’s sales teams have done an incredible job working with and taking care of customers. In the past month they’ve created more than 600 new accounts in 45 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. In New York and New Jersey alone, they’ve added more than 100 new accounts. They’ve also been working with many long-time customers to supply them with face shields. In addition to hospitals, they’ve supplied face shields to correction institutions, assisted living facilities, medical labs, urgent care facilities and physician offices.

 As the name, Total Plastics, Int’l, implies TPI has produced a broad spectrum of plastic products since 1978. TPI has been in the personal protective equipment (PPE) market for years, so this fell well within their core competencies. They had the capabilities in house and manufacturing partnerships (material suppliers) to quickly respond to the rapidly growing demand. 

 

In addition to the face shields, they’ve also worked on several other products. They’ve supplied clear plastic partitions used at check-out lanes at grocery stores, providing the store employee an added level of protection. Many hospitals have requested “aerosol boxes” to place over patients during the intubation process. The Javits Convention Center in New York was transformed into an overflow hospital and TPI provided the material (white foamed PVC board) that was used to create different rooms.

They’re continuing to work with customers on a daily basis on different applications in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The COVID pandemic is an obstacle many thought we’d never face in our lifetime. TPI utilized their experience to protect others overcoming this obstacle so we may come out stronger. COVID will likely change the world we live in. We will be more cautious about infections and how we interact with others. Total Plastics Int’l will be there to supply many of the essential protections required by our changed environment.



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