Universal Plastics Pitching In to Produce Productive Gear During The Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rate of 1,000 Face Shields Per Day.
Left to Right: Brittany Sustar, Nursing Operations Manager, Julie Szitas, Chief Nursing Officer, Teresa Criblez, Human Resources, Nicole Stupka, Marketing, Candy Zwolinski, Inventory
The company, headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts, has pivoted its production to PPE during this difficult time. Universal Plastics produces about 1,000 face shields per day at its plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Production started in mid-March, when the pandemic ramped up.
Along with selling the shields at cost, Universal Plastics has been donating the masks to those in need, including nursing homes, hospitals and local first reponders.
The shields are made of plastic and include an adjustable strap to secure the shield and a plastic band that prevents fogging. The masks are reusable.
Universal Plastics – Middlefield primarily manufactures medical parts and was deemed an essential business early on.
Universal Plastics – Middlefield is an innovative facility specializing in injection molding, including gas assist molding, and structural foam molding to customers in the medical, laboratory & diagnostic fields. The facility manufactures parts for nurses’ carts, mammogram machines, covers, trays and panels for hospitals and exam rooms on a regular basis. We are very familiar with the medical industry and standards.
Left to Right: Captain Tony Yeropoli, Nicole Stupka, Marketing, Joe Danks
Universal Plastics – Middlefield donated 25 face shields to the Middlefield Fire Department and 75 to UH Geauga Medical Center.
“On behalf of all of our personnel, I’d like to say thank you to Universal Plastics for the donation of the face shields. As the COVID 19 crises began to unfold, healthcare and public safety agencies everywhere experienced supplier shortages of PPE. We consider ourselves fortunate to share working partnerships with companies such as Universal Plastics. Thanks to the company’s production ability and generosity, our personnel have one more tool available to protect ourselves during the performance of our duties.” – Captain Tony Yeropoli, Middlefield Fire Department
A Universal Plastics – Middlefield employee, Candy Zwolinski, has family that works at UH Geauga Medical Center, and was happy to assist with the donation.
Universal Plastics is headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and operates five factories in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Jay and Pia Kumar eight years ago. They acquired the 150,000-square-foot Middlefield plant, formerly known as Sajar Plastics, in 2017.
As a company, we want to give back to our local communities and protect those around us. That starts with our employees. Each employee was told to take one mask for themselves and additional masks for family members that work on the front lines.
“Our goal for manufacturing the face shields was to utilize our medical expertise for the good during this difficult time. We asked, what can we do? As a family owned business, we value family, so what better way to support our employees and local communities than by providing them essential PPE”. – Pia Kumar, co-owner and chief strategy officer at Universal Plastics
“Donating is a way of boosting morale at our facilities and to showcase how much of a difference our employees make manufacturing and assembling essential medical parts.” – Nicole Stupka, leads all Marketing efforts at Universal Plastics.
