Prent Designs, Forms, Delivers Face Shields to Medical Workers

When Prent Corp. learned that a local medical center, Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center, had a shortage of protective equipment due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the company sprung into action. Within 48 hr, healthcare workers had new face shields. Prent has donated more than 10,000 face shields to Mercyhealth and other local healthcare facilities. The company plans to ramp up production to provide to healthcare workers in need throughout the country.

Based in Janesville, Wis., Prent is a thermoformer that designs and produces custom packaging for the medical and electronics industries. The company had just installed and validated a new thermoforming production line the week before.

“We heard there was a dire need in our community and we knew we could help, so we dedicated a team to work on it immediately,” says Joseph Pregont II, v.p. of corporate sales at Prent. “The added capacity means we have an entire production line dedicated to making face shields without impacting other orders. We’ll continue face shield production until hospital supply chains can meet the demand.”

Right now, many healthcare workers are forced to reuse surgical masks because they’re in short supply. The face shield covers the whole face to help keep masks clean so they can be safely used longer.

Prent designers tried creating a traditional face shield with three parts (shield, foam cushion and elastic headband) but found it would take too long to get all the parts from suppliers, so the company designed an innovative solution made of only plastic and foam that could be produced and delivered quickly. Dr. Kathleen Agard from Mercyhealth tested some prototypes and choose one that fit well without fogging.

“Less than 12 hr after I first spoke to Prent, they had prototypes for me to see,” Agard states. “I’m really impressed that they were so responsive and giving of their time. The face shield is very important because it helps keep our staff and patients safe. ”

The scratch-resistant, recycled PETG plastic material from sister company, GOEX, was extruded in an unprecedented 24 hr. The machine die was developed by local Millenium Die Group in just 5 hr. Then full production began.

During the first shift at Prent, workers produced 2200 face shields and had them delivered to Mercyhealth. The company intends to continue making face shields for the foreseeable future until there is no longer a shortage at medical facilities. Prent estimates it has the capacity to make millions of face shields per week.