Scotts Miracle-Gro to Produce PPE at California Factory

Lawn and garden care products firm Scotts Miracle-Gro has converted its Temecula, CA manufacturing facility to produce face shields used by healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19, the company announced in a recent release. 

“Our country is facing a challenge unlike anything it’s ever seen before,” the firm’s chief executive officer and chairman, Jim Hagedorn, said in a statement. “During times like this, it’s the responsibility of every citizen, and especially every company, to do the right thing to protect our people and help our country remain strong. I can’t thank our Temecula team enough for the hard work they’ve put in to create these face shields and support our community’s first responders.”

Healthcare workers and first responders in the US are facing a significant shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) like face shields as the novel coronavirus spreads. An initial run of 9000 face shields is being donated to hospital workers and police officers in Temecula, the County of Nassau in New York, and New York State. 

The company said it intends to continue the production of face shields across the US during the pandemic. 

“It’s wonderful when companies reach across sectors to work as a team,” Kelly Motadel, chief executive officer of Vista Community Clinic in Vista, CA, said in the release. “This is an example of that and it will result in protecting our patients and clinicians… it will save lives.”

Scotts Miracle-Gro is one of many companies retooling their production lines to produce PPE and other in demand products like hand sanitizer. Chemical firms BASF, Dow, and Huntsman have started to produce hand sanitizer at several of their facilities over the last month. 

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