A local company is celebrating a milestone in its production of personal protective equipment, and it has no plans to slow down.
Molded Precision Components (MPC), in Oro-Medonte, recently made its 10 millionth face shield.
The company that made automotive components began producing face shields in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been about 140 days from MPC coming up with the concept to pumping out its 10 millionth face shield.
“When we first started the tooling and retooling of it, we didn’t have any sales, so we didn’t know what kind of orders we’d see,” said MPC president and co-owner David Yeaman.
They soon found out. The federal government ordered 15 million. Ontario and Alberta also requested millions.
“Did we ever imagine that we’d have a demand of that scale? No,” Yeaman said. “I’d rather there wasn’t a risk, but I’m happy we’re in a position where we can support our community.”
This morning, I was pleased to join @MPCComponents to celebrate the astounding accomplishment of hitting 10 million face shields made. This local businesses retooled their production to meet the #PPE needs of our community and they have gone above and beyond! pic.twitter.com/tFG7UC0vZ7
— Jill Dunlop, MPP (@JillDunlop1) August 11, 2020
With a total of 27 million face shields on order, and having produced its 10 millionth, MPC has 17 million to go. The company can make more than 450,000 per day.
MPC won’t stop once it reaches the remaining 17 million on order, though. It is one of a number of companies working with the township and province to get a medical innovation park up and running on Line 7.
It would include one million square feet of space dedicated to bolstering the country’s supply of personal protective equipment, ensuring Canada isn’t as dependent on other nations in the event of another pandemic.
“We’ll be in this business forever,” Yeaman said. “Face shields are just the start of where we’re going.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, other companies wasted no time producing masks and face shields. MPC took the time to create a more sustainable product.
Its face shields are the first engineered ones in the world, Yeaman said, noting they are single headpieces that contain no foam or felt, made to be reusable, recyclable and comfortable.
Masks and shields that aren’t as environmentally friendly are piling up in landfills, he added.
“We can’t forget we’ve got to live here post-pandemic,” he said.
Providing face shields to Canadians is the top priority, Yeaman said, but MPC is also helping out in other countries. It recently sent 3,000 of them to hard-hit Florida in the United States.
“Canadians come first, but there are other people who are suffering and we need to help them as well,” he said.
The federal and provincial governments have purchased about 54 million face shields, and MPC is supplying more than half of them.
MPC has also donated 25,000 face shields to various businesses and other operations, including retirement homes, daycares and pharmacies, to ensure those on the front lines are protected.
The company will thank its employees Thursday night at the Sunset Drive-in in Oro-Medonte. There will be an entire big screen dedicated to the event, and it will show a video depicting the company’s journey over the past few months, as well as video messages from politicians.
It will also serve as a farewell party for the 112 students MPC hired during the pandemic.
