Insul-Fab has a sprawling factory in Coppell that is usually busy making things the public doesn't see, like insulation, foams and adhesives. But now, the company has retooled a production line to make sanitary, medical-grade face shields.
"We've been really inspired by a lot of the grassroots efforts of people to produce PPE (personal protective equipment)," company owner Shelby Ricketts said. "We felt like our place in the market was to go high-capacity."
Insul-Fab has started to make about 10,000 face shields a day, seven days a week.
"Now we have a chance to go directly to the consumer. More importantly, to heath care workers," Ricketts said. "We obviously empathize with the real heroes, who are on the front lines taking care of potentially ill people, going back home to their families, working countless hours with inadequate PPE."
Insul-Fab jumped into the new production with lightning speed.
"We hustled," Ricketts said. "Yes, we hustled."
Production that usually takes six weeks to ramp up took six days. On Tuesday, the first order of 5,000 face shields was boxed and ready to ship to a Texas hospital.
"So we really have an opportunity to really make an impact for healthcare workers on the front lines who so desperately need this personal protective equipment," Ricketts said. "That makes them more comfortable going home at night, then that makes us feel like we're making a huge difference."
