October 26, 2020 I Coronavirus
D’Addario Awarded Grant to Expand Face Shield Manufacturing
From left to right: John D’Addario III, New York Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre and her daughter, New York Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul, Jim D’Addario, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and New York State Senator John Brooks.
On October 23, Lieutenant Governor of New York Kathleen Hochul visited D’Addario’s Farmingdale factory to tour the facility and learn more about the company’s COVID-19 Face Shield Initiative. During the height of the COVID crisis, D’Addario shut down all normal operations and converted to producing PPE face shields. New York State and the Empire State Development Corporation recently showed their support for D’Addario’s altruistic innovation, awarding the company a $341,000 grant to expand face shield manufacturing operations. With the grant, the company plans to build four semi-automated work cells to improve efficiency, lower manufacturing cost and double production capacity.
“At a time when we were scouring the Earth in search of personal protective equipment, New York State’s manufacturers like D’Addario answered the call to support our COVID-19 frontline heroes,” Hochul said. “We are proud to support our innovative manufacturers who are stepping up to save lives and are a model for how we build back better for the post-pandemic future.”
To date, D’Addario has sold almost 1.5 million face shields — primarily to hospitals and healthcare equipment distributors. However, the face shields have also found their way to local businesses, schools and even the Detroit Lions NFL team.
“An unprecedented crisis like the global pandemic in many ways can define individuals and organizations” said D’Addario CEO John D’Addario III. “I could not be prouder of the ingenuity and genuine care of our family of employees at D’Addario in helping those in need of PPE materials. I am equally proud of not only the leadership of New York State in how they have navigated the uncertainty of COVID-19, but also their willingness to partner with companies like ours to truly make a difference in protecting people.”
