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EDWARDSBURG — An Edwardsburg company just got a helping hand to produce products that will protect Michigan residents from COVID-19.

Spartech, of St. Louis, Missouri, announced Monday it is supplying essential clear plastic materials to Duo Form, an Edwardsburg-based company now producing intubation boxes and safety shields to help protect healthcare professionals.

Spartech is a leading manufacturer of engineered thermoplastics and custom packaging solutions.

“In the fight against COVID-19, we recognize the importance of quickly supplying critical materials to companies like Duo Form that can produce personal protective equipment for our front-line healthcare professionals,” said Todd Niemuth, market manager of healthcare for Spartech. “Our number one goal is to ensure companies have the necessary materials to make and deliver protective equipment that will keep our courageous nurses and doctors safe.”

“We want to thank Spartech for suppling us with much-needed materials to produce intubation boxes as well as safety shields and face shields,” said Mike Gonser, director of new product development for Duo Form. “Like Spartech, our main objective is to protect healthcare workers as we work together to end this global pandemic.”

Spartech supplied Duo Form with DuraGard, a clear polycarbonate product that will be used in Duo Form Intubation Boxes and Duo Retail Safety Shields. Durable and strong, the thick gauge product is ideal for protecting medical and healthcare facilities, according to company representatives. DuraGard can also be used in applications such as sneeze-guards at retail and grocery store checkout lanes.

Duo Form’s Intubation Boxes provide additional protection between medical staff and patients when an endotracheal intubation is needed for a patient with known or suspected COVID-19. In addition, the transportable box can be kept over a patient’s head when the patient is being moved to different hospital units. Spartech is also supplying Duo Form with UltraTuf PETG, another material that will be used in Duo Form face shields.

Spartech has long manufactured the clear plastic films used to make the personal protective equipment that helps protect first responders and healthcare workers in their daily work pro-tecting and assisting their patients. Now, Spartech’s decades of expertise in forming plastic materials is essential in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Because Spartech has multiple facilities to process these clear materials, the St. Louis-based company has been able to ensure a constant supply of personal protection equipment even during high demand. Spartech’s other facilities that can process the materials are Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; Muncie, Indiana; Greenville, Ohio and Newark, New Jersey.

Prior to the pandemic, Spartech already had customers that make face shields for medical and industrial applications.  Not surprisingly, Spartech’s healthcare customers that produce person-al protective equipment are now seeing an increased demand.

“Because we have several locations with the capabilities and capacities to process the materials, we are able to reach these key producers in an efficient and timely manner” Niemuth said. “Our employees have really stepped up. We cannot thank them enough.”