Inspired and focused, ILC Dover employees work tirelessly to bring essential equipment to healthcare providers across the nation
4/22/20, Frederica, DE—Every day, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, ILC Dover employees manage rigid workplace safety restrictions and work long hours to deliver critical products that protect healthcare providers from infectious disease, enable pharmaceutical customers to deliver critical drugs and help the US provide security to our nation.
“Our staff at ILC Dover is doing everything they can to help healthcare workers do their job effectively and safely,” said President and CEO Fran DiNuzzo. “Personal protection has been an ILC Dover watchword for more than 70 years. What has changed is the demand for the products. We are ramping up personal protective equipment (PPE) production to over 30 times what it was last year. The ILC Dover team has stepped up to this challenge with a determination and spirit that is synonymous with our culture.”
Innovation in a Time of Crisis
In the face of exceptional demand and supply chain challenges, ILC Dover identified its respirator hood supply would not allow them to meet the demands of the healthcare market. Responding to this issue, the company’s R&D team designed a new powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) hood for workers on the frontline of the pandemic. Doug Durney, PPE Product Line Director at ILC Dover, explained that the EZ BioHood™ is manufactured in-house at ILC Dover headquarters in Frederica, DE, using existing materials and equipment. The entire process, from design to NIOSH approval, took only five weeks. The normal NIOSH approval process alone is typically several months.
All of this innovation and increased productivity leads to growth— and ILC Dover is hiring.
Protecting the Workforce
As the COVID-19 story continues to evolve, ILC Dover stays committed to providing a safe, productive workplace for its over 600 employees. Identified by the State of Delaware as an essential business, ILC Dover proudly rises to the challenge of meeting unprecedented demand for its products.
“The safety of our employees is a top priority,” said DiNuzzo. “To protect our workforce, we made adjustments early and quickly. We continue to stay ahead of guidelines from the CDC, WHO and the State of Delaware in our procedures and process for protecting our employees.”
Starting in mid-February, ILC Dover took many preventive measures, including:
- Cleaned and sanitized all facilities intensely and frequently
- Provided PPE, including face masks, to all employees working in facilities
- Eliminated close contact between production teams
- Moved all non-essential team members to work at home
- Eliminated face-to-face meetings by utilizing virtual meeting technologies
- Suspended all non-essential company travel on a global basis
- Limited visitors at all sites
“We’ll fully support our employees if anyone contracts COVID-19, encounters someone with a confirmed infection or needs to care for a family member,” DiNuzzo added. “Our benefits program provides continuation of pay and benefits for individuals dealing with healthcare and daycare challenges.”
Ensuring the Supply of Mission-Critical Products to Healthcare Customers
Along with ensuring a safe environment for employees, another top priority for ILC Dover is keeping customers supplied and mitigating business interruptions. As a leading provider of solutions that improve efficiency, safeguard workers and products, and prevent disasters, the continuous supply from ILC Dover is critical, from advanced pharmaceutical and biopharma products to flood protection to personal safety equipment and more.
“The pandemic was yet another example of the ILC Dover team taking on a daunting challenge in an unprecedented time: maintaining an uninterrupted supply of high-quality products for all our customers while ramping up the production of essential healthcare PPE by 30 times during a global pandemic, said DiNuzzo. “It was more than a team goal. It is the team’s mission.”
“ILC Dover has a reputation for pushing innovation Beyond Boundaries™,” DiNuzzo said. “We believe nothing is impossible. Our incredible employees prove this every day by solving complex problems for our customers. We couldn’t be prouder of our team.”
Fran DiNuzzo, President and CEO of ILC Dover.
About ILC Dover
ILC Dover is a world-leader in the innovative design and production of engineered flexible protective solutions, for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, flood protection, personal protection, bulk packaging, and aerospace industries. Our customers will attest to our relentless dedication to high value products, advanced technology, and responsive service, as our visionary solutions have improved efficiency while safeguarding people, product, and infrastructure in hazardous conditions through flexible protective solutions since 1947. For more information, visit ilcdover.com.
