More than 40 packaging converters from 20 countries have come together to create an organisation called ‘Fibre Shield’ to create single-use, disposable face shields in response to COVID-19 and the global shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical professionals.
Packaging producers and supply chain partners from around the world pooled their collective resources and expertise to develop, in record time, protective paperboard face shield designs that could be produced on existing packaging equipment with readily available materials. Two packaging companies, Pawi from Switzerland and Zumbiel Packaging from the United States, launched this initiative in March.
Every participating company is committing to donate at least 100,000 shields. Pawi, Zumbiel Packaging and U.S-based Pulver Packaging have already committed to donating over 700,000 shields to medical providers in Europe and North America. The group is confident that they can produce and distribute over 10 million face shields in the next several weeks.
Every day, additional packaging firms, supply chain partners, and industry trade associations are joining the group. According to Ed Zumbiel of Zumbiel Packaging, “Virtually everyone in the packaging ecosystem has jumped in to offer raw materials, production assistance, and logistics support to the companies who are producing the shields.”
Face shields manufactured by Pulver Packaging using paper supplied by Case Paper.
