John Deere, in collaboration with the UAW, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, is producing protective face shields in Moline, Illinois. Deere employees will initially produce 25,000 face shields to meet the immediate needs of health-care workers in several of its US manufacturing communities. Source: Timberbiz
The Moline factory manufactures planting equipment and precision ag solutions for a global customer base.
Materials and supplies are on order to produce an additional 200,000 face shields.
The first 25,000 protective face shields will be delivered to 16 US Deere factories in eight states as well as the company’s U.S. Deere-Hitachi factory for local distribution. The initial run will help meet the immediate needs of health-care workers in those communities.
The company is using an open-source design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the project and leveraging expertise, skills, and innovation of its employee base. a
“Our manufacturing and supply management teams, along with our production and maintenance employees, the UAW, and our partners have worked tirelessly to ensure we could lend our support and protect our health-care workers during this crisis,” John May, John Deere CEO said.
The production of protective face shields is one of many initiatives the company and its employees have executed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Efforts in the US have included:
- PPE donations to health care facilities
- 2:1 employee match program encouraging donations to local food banks and the American Red Cross
- Production of approximately 18,000 protective face shields for use by factory employees
- Employee volunteerism efforts to sew cloth masks for community members along with a match from the John Deere Foundation for the time invested in this volunteer activity
- Launch of a COVID-19 innovations site to share open-source specifications for related projects, including 3D-printed clips to affix face shields to protective bump caps.
