Two Newtown-based cutting edge manufacturing companies a couple of miles apart are working overtime to support strategic response to the novel coronavirus that by the weekend claimed almost 1,100 Connecticut lives and killed more than 150,000 globally.

Curtis Packaging is manufacturing plastic face shields for the first time in its 175 years of operation, according to CEO Don Droppo, Jr.

"We are super busy trying to manage the new PPE program," he said in a communication to the Newtown Economic and Community Development office. "We are pretty dialed in to Connecticut and would love to get these to NY/NJ."

These face shields are made to service medical professionals on the front lines fighting the COVID-19 virus. Available through a special website (https://www.curtiscares.life/) set up by the Sandy Hook company, the face shields come in 150 unit boxes, and the Curtis is currently taking orders of 1,000,000+ units.

Meanwhile, a short distance away off Church Hill Road, Sonics & Materials has been operating continuously throughout the coronavirus crisis to meet customers’ needs as they address peak demand for PPE items and lab equipment.

A supplier of ultrasonic equipment for over five decades, Sonics manufactures systems used for textile and plastics assembly as well as specialized lab equipment.

As companies rush to adapt to new demands, Sonics has been supplying their products to customers who produce face masks, surgical gowns, protective face shields and medical devices, as well as to research labs involved in the race to find coronavirus rapid tests, treatments and vaccines.

Sonics ultrasonic plastics welding systems are also used for myriad medical device applications where the benefits of precision control and green technology (no additional consumables or waste, plus on-demand energy) are increasingly valued.

To share their decades-long, specialized expertise in this field, Sonics recently held a free, instructive webinar on “Ultrasonics and PPE / Medical Devices,” which is available to view by CLICKING HERE.

PPE, Ventilator, & Vaccine Innovations

Sonics has been working directly with customers combating the severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers on the front lines of this pandemic. Recently, Sonics delivered hand-held welding systems to companies that use them to weld the elastic strip to the sides of clear protective face shields.

Sonics has also worked in partnership with three different companies to produce a version of its X-Press welding system with a specially customized horn and inserting tips for installing inserts into an oxygen accumulator tank - which is used along with a ventilator.

Continuing to innovate, the global company based here in Newtown recently developed a process for welding multiple layers of material around the perimeter of a face mask.

Sonics’ high intensity ultrasonic liquid processors are used in a variety of lab processes including biotechnology, homogenization, nanotechnology, cell lysing, and DNA shearing. This equipment is used by many of the hospitals, labs, universities, and research centers that are involved in fighting coronavirus.

For example, Sonics recently delivered a liquid processing system and accessories to assist one of their customers in the production of a solution used with a device that combats the spread of microbes like COVID-19.

Another liquid processing system was supplied to a customer working on behalf of US Homeland Security to develop a vaccine, and Sonics’ replacement probes and a high volume flocell were needed by a company working on an experimental vaccine to combat COVID-19.

Sonics has assured their customers that:

• Manufacturing, shipping, and receiving teams are operational and will continue to meet your high expectations for receiving critical equipment.

• The service team is staffed and continues to quickly and efficiently repair equipment.

• The sales and technical support teams are staffed remotely and are available to assist you during regular business hours.

Compliance And Commitment

Sonics has also taken aggressive actions to ensure the safety of its employees and compliance with all the requirements put in place by Governor Ned Lamont.

Company President Lauren Soloff said she is very proud of how employees have responded to this unique and unprecedented crisis in which manufacturing companies are playing their most critical role since the second World War.

“Like our fellow manufacturers across the country, we are committed to helping our customers fight this pandemic, while delivering our products and service in a way that maintains the health and safety of our employees. We are all truly in this together,” Soloff said.

In a recent daily address to the State, Governor Ned Lamont mentioned Curtis Packaging as one of Connecticut's manufacturers switching over production lines to support efforts to end the pandemic.

Curtis Packaging, commemorating its 175th Anniversary in 2020, has been manufacturing paperboard folding cartons for countless customers around the globe, and currently services golf ball, cosmetics, liquor, chocolates, and medical industries, along with their secondary packaging needs.

In a communication to his Curtis employees, Droppo shared, "Tough times never last, but tough people always do."

"That is extremely poignant today," he added. "It takes a lot of getting used to with social distancing, masks, working from home, teams meetings - and I couldn’t be more grateful for your resilience. I couldn’t be more proud of the way we have all faced this crisis head on. We have continued to address our customers' current needs, all while keeping a very safe work environment."

Droppo said one CEO of a prominent New England Hospital Network called the Curtis face shield design "simple yet elegant," the hospital official is quoted as saying. "I love the way the fold keeps the shield off the face nicely without requiring a foam strip across the forehead."

View a video of the Curtis face shield assembly here: