Alabama Manufacturers Innovate To Make PPE for COVID-19 Response
Our Alabama Manufacturing Heroes – We Salute You
Cloth Face Masks
- Large group of makers in the North East Alabama community have joined a Facebook group and a Madison Facebook group to make cloth masks for front line healthcare and service workers. More Info
- Large group of makers in the Birmingham community have joined together through Birmingham Face Masks and joined its Facebook group to make cloth masks for frontline healthcare and service workers. More Info
- Large group of makers in the Opelika, East Alabama region have joined together in a Facebook group and are working on cloth masks for frontline healthcare and service workers. More Info
- Alabama Shakespeare Festival costumers are making cloth masks for frontline healthcare and service workers. More Info
- Tang’s Alterations, located in Montgomery, is working with volunteers to make cloth masks for local medical workers. More Info
- Joe Birdwell, in the Montgomery area 3D Printing Community is making a cloth face mask jig to assist local makers of cloth face masks make pleats. More Info
- Volunteers with Tuscaloosa’s DCH Foundation are making cloth face masks for DCH Hospital and are getting support from Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. which is sewing additional face masks to supplement the effort. More Info
- Birmingham wedding dress designer Heidi Elnora and Moulton’s Red Land Cotton are jointly working to produce face masks More Info
- Cullman County’s HomTex plant is manufacturing cloth face masks More Info
- Alabama Chanin located in Muscle Shoals is producing cloth face masks. More Info
Face Masks
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Plant in Tuscaloosa County is manufacturing protective face masks. More Info
Cullman County’s HomTex plant is manufacturing 3-fold surgical face masks. More Info
- Renfro Corporation, the plant located in Fort Payne, will be making face masks. More Info
Face Shields
- Boeing – Huntsville location is manufacturing protective face shields More Info
- Decatur’s Cook Museum of Natural Science has joined local 3D community in producing face shields More Info
- Destin Sandlin of reknown Smarter Every Day You Tube Channel along with Huntsville and North Alabama 3D printing Communities are producing face shields More Info
- Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Plant located in Vance is manufacturing protective face shields. More Info
Several groups joined together at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa along with Alabama Power Company’s Technology Applications Center to produce face shields for UA’s University Medical Center, DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa and UAB Hospital. PPG Industries Inc. in Huntsville has been providing the plastic material for the shields. More Info
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama engine plant in Huntsville is producing face shields. More Info
- Calagaz Printing in Mobile, usually focused on the restaurant industry, is making face shields. More Info
- Red Mountain Makers, a Birmingham-based community makerspace along w a coalition of technology companies, with Satterfield Technologies leading production, are leading effort to manufacture face shields More Info
- Calhoun Community College has supported efforts to make face shields. More Info
- The Montgomery area 3D Printing Community is making face shields for care givers and first responders. More Info
- UAH SMAP Center located on campus in Huntsville is supporting the local 3D community effort to produce face shields for healthcare workers.
- Drake State Community & Technical College’s Advanced Manufacturing program is utilizing their 3D printers to produce face shields in support of Huntsville’s community effort to supply healthcare workers. More Info
- The University of West Alabama’s Black Belt Museum located in Livingston, Sumter County is utllizing its 3D printers to produce face shields for the Black Belt Region frontline workers. More Info
Hand Sanitizer
- Hand Sanitizer – produced by YellowHammer Brewery with assistance from Torch Technologies and Freedom Real Estate, Huntsville, AL
- Hand Sanitizer – produced by Straight to Ale, Huntsville, AL
- Hand Sanitizer – produced by Irons Distillery, Huntsville, AL w distribution assisted by Piper and Leaf Artisan Tea Co., Huntsville, AL
- Dread River Distilling Company lon Birmingham’s SouthSide is making hand sanitizer More Info
- Gibson Distilling located in Headland is supplying the Wiregrass region with hand sanitizer through its Project Hand San. More Info
- John Emerald Distilling in Opelika is supporting the local community with hand sanitizer. More Info
- Crave Candles Company based in Helena is making hand sanitizer More Info
- Research Solutions. a regional chemical distribution company in Pelham is making hand sanitizer. More Info
- On Duty USA, an Alabama veteran owned business with an office in Birmingham, is now manufacturing hand sanitizer More Info
- Ginesis Natural Products, a natural shampoo manufacturer in Waterloo, Lauderdale County is making hand sanitizer. More Info
- Old Black Bear Brewing, located in Madison, Madison County, is focused on making hand sanitizer More Info
- Star Market, a locally-owned Huntsville grocery and drug store is making hand sanitizer to help supply the local demand. More Info
- Left Hand Soap, a Tuscaloosa soap company has transitioned into making hand sanitizer for businesses and essential workers and sends a shout out to Huntsville’s Piper & Leaf Tea company for providing additional bottling containers. More Info
- Back Forty Beer Company, a brewery and Distillery in Gadsden, Etowah County has transition into making hand sanitizer for community needs. More Info
Medical Gowns
- Protective Clothing Manufacturer Kappler in Marshall County is now making medical garments. More Info
- Alabama Chanin located in Muscle Shoals is producing medical gowns. More Info
PVC Sheets
- Huntsville-based Kommerling USA, part of the international profine Group, is manufacturing and supplying large PVC sheets to its distribution partners and through its regional supply hubs to construct various COVID-19 related projects. These include field hospitals, drive thru testing units, hospital bed areas, barrier walls, shields and other easy clean applications. The team have also developed KomaPod, an easy-clean hygienic PVC Pod suitable for a wide variety of applications.
Surgical Mask Strap – EarSavers
- Red Mountain Makers, a Birmingham-based community makerspace is making earsavers
Ventilators
- CUBIC|GATR Technologies partners with the University of Alabama in Huntsville for a prototype ventilator – VentiGATR
- Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has teamed with Huntsville defense contractor Integrated Solutions for Systems (IS4S) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville to begin assembling the RE-InVENT devices which are adaptations of CPAP devices resulting in ventilators . More Info
How we can help at this time
We understand that the current COVID-19 epidemic is creating many challenges for manufacturers of all sizes including supply chain, lost contracts or sales, workforce, capital and more.
Please locate and contact your local ATN center or in the Tennessee Valley reach out to us at UAH CMER -ATN for one-on-one assistance to help plan, prepare and implement policies and practices to help your organization.
ATN and UAH CMER -ATN team members are prepared to provide information, make referrals and connections, and provide assistance and resources to assist as many organizations as we can. Use our UAH CMER-ATN Helpline to let us know how we can assist you.
UAH CMER is located within the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Business and is an ATN sub-center and a part of the MEP National Network (MEPNN).
Resources Available On UAHCMER For Manufacturers
Due to COVID-19 epidemic, UAH CMER has several new website pages to support Manufacturers:
COVID-19 Information & Resources for Businesses
Resources on COVID-19, how UAH CMER can assist your company, UAH SBDC and SBA resources, and other key links are referenced.
How Alabama Companies Can Help Fight COVID-19
Resources on Manufacturing PPE including using 3D Printing
We will continue to keep you updated as resources and guidance become available from NIST MEP, MEPNN, and the ATN Network via email and through our social media channels. (Twitter: UAH_CMER ; FB: @UAHCMER)
Clinical Assistant Professor, ISEEM, UAH
Director, CMER & ATN-UAH