May 4, 2020

Navigating business and daily life during COVID-19 is difficult, but hard times can bring out the best in us. This is evident through all the industry leaders, small businesses and influencers who are doing their part to help those in need and bring a brighter future to the world faster. Here is some of the best news KBB has gathered throughout the most recent weeks of the pandemic.

Hardware Brand Delivers Gloves to Local Hospital

Berenson Corp. is pulling together to supply customers with product for homes, hospitals and emergency medical centers. Appliance pulls have been provided for use on medical carts, and the company delivered 20,000 nitrile gloves to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y.

Companies Team Up to Feed First Responders and Support Local Restaurants

Newton, Mass.-based plumbing, heating and air-conditioning company, The Portland Group partnered with showroom Splash and Spritzo to feed hundreds of first responders throughout New England in a campaign to support local restaurants, hospitals, fire stations, police stations and schools. Each day of the campaign, one of their retail or wholesale locations ordered from a local restaurant and had food donated and delivered to the first responders of their choice. Followers on social media – and the local restaurants with which they worked – also added to the orders.

Kraus Donates Essential Masks to N.Y. State

Kraus is supporting USA Vascular Centers with the donation of 2000 N95 protective masks in their efforts to aid New York State with the emergency response to COVID-19. The N95 protective masks are essential for healthcare workers as they assist in helping those affected by the virus. 

GE Appliances Announces Donation Program

Through the GEA4Heroes program, GE Appliances is donating a significant number of products made to healthcare and first responder professionals in need. The company is also donating more 120,000 masks and 100,000 gloves to healthcare facilities and government agencies in the five states where they manufacture appliances. In addition, 3D printing facilities have transitioned to the production of face shields for the medical community.

Surfacing Brand Donates Meals to Feeding America

Formica Corporation is giving up to 500,000 meals to Feeding America food banks nationwide through its Lunch & Learn program. This virtual Lunch & Learn program is available through the Formica Group North America YouTube page and is used to educate architects and designers. Typically, the company offers in-person training and provides lunch for architects and designers while they learn about the company’s new products. Because of COVID-19, the company is now offering the training online and is reinvesting money spent on lunches to feed those in need via Feeding America. For every view these videos received through April 30, Formica Corp. donated 10 meals to Feeding America, up to 500,000 total meals.

Flooring Company Produces PPE Materials

Mohawk Industries has partnered with Fabric Sources International to begin producing medical isolation gowns and protective face shields. The company has shifted the focus of its manufacturing teams to design, test and create medical gowns, with an average of 1,200 per day. Initial donations are going to local medical centers, but the companies are working to expand their reach to other hospitals in Georgia.

Wallpaper Brand Launches Fundraising Program

Flavor Paper has announced a new fundraising program, Positive Feedback, to support local restaurants and feed health care works. From April 21 through May 31, the company will donate 25 percent of its website sales from its city-themed series – Bay Area, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and New Orleans – to East Bay FeedER and Frontline Foods.

Appliance Company Provides Wireless Telemetry Systems to Hospitals

To assist health professionals in their line of work, Bertazzoni has donated eight wireless telemetry systems to the Guastalla Hospital near its base in Parma, Italy. These systems are now installed in the Intensive Care Medicine Department and help doctors and nurses monitor real-time patient vitals with radio frequencies, allowing them to assess patients while reducing physical proximity.

HBF Transitions Factory to Make, Donate Masks + PPE in Local Communities

Hickory, N.C.-based HBF is engaging its factory and craftspeople to manufacture personal protective equipment to donate to local first responders, health care systems and hospitals. These activities include: manufacture of washable masks to support the rapid increase in demand for cloth face coverings; manufacture of washable mask covers, which fit over and extend the useful life of scarce N95 respirators; and manufacture of protective gowns (both washable and disposable) for use in hospitals.

AMEICO Donates KN95 Masks to Local Connecticut Hospital

AMEICO, a distributor of contemporary furniture designs in New Millford, Conn., has donated 450 KN95 masks to the New Milford branch of Danbury Hospital following a call for donations. AMEICO received these masks from its supplier in Japan and chose to donate to the frontline workers who need these the most within their community.

Standard Issue Develops Open Source Mask Design

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based design consultancy Standard Issue has created One Mask, an open-source design for a face mask that can be produced quickly and inexpensively on a large scale by any organization with access to automated cutting and seaming technology. One Mask is designed to use as few materials, parts and steps as possible and, though not medical-grade rated, it is intended for use by the public following CDC recommendations.

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