A medical face shield manufactured by Kenesky in London. (Photo courtesy of Kenesky Manufacturing Inc. via Twitter)A medical face shield manufactured by Kenesky in London. (Photo courtesy of Kenesky Manufacturing Inc. via Twitter)
London

Goalie equipment maker switches gears during pandemic

A London-based company that manufactures hockey equipment to protect players is changing its clientele to instead protect front line health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kenesky Manufacturing Inc. recently began manufacturing protective face shields that will be used by health care professionals across Canada.  The London company typically makes pro-quality goalie equipment for hockey players, but owner Mike Howard said it was a simple switch because they have most of the materials already on hand.

"We knew we could do it, we knew we could build them," he said. "There's a demand for them so if we can help out a little bit with that demand, we do what we can do to help."

Medical face shields manufactured by Kenesky in London. (Photo courtesy of Kenesky Manufacturing Inc. via Twitter) Medical face shields manufactured by Kenesky in London. (Photo courtesy of Kenesky Manufacturing Inc. via Twitter)

Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face shields, has been in short supply at hospitals and other health care facilities in areas all over the county due to the demand caused by the pandemic.

While Kenesky was initially impacted by the Ontario's government's order to close all non-essential businesses, Howard said the transition to PPE manufacturing helped to keep the business running. He added that it was also important for the company to help out wherever possible during the current situation faced by all Canadians.

"We weren't doing it for notoriety, we didn't put our name on them... we just want to get stuff out there to keep people safe," he said. "I would say it's humbling in a way"

According to Howard, the first shipment of protective face shields was on the road to the distributor on Wednesday and they plan to ship more every day. He added that the company is hoping to produce between 5,000 to 10,000 face shields every week.

Kenesky is also doing everything possible to keep its employees safe during the pandemic such as keeping up with social distancing practices and keep everything sanitized.

"We have about 3,000 to 4,000 square feet here... there's only about six of us here, so we can social distance ourselves at the factory," Howard said. "We can keep everything clean because it's self-contained."

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