The relationship between community members and their businesses during a time of crisis become crucial to recovery efforts. With a long-standing history of community partnership in the locations where we work and serve, we have increased our efforts to help residents through our products.
Across the globe, we have prioritized production to supply maximum output of in-demand items. Our protection materials have become essential to the fight against COVID-19. The US Department of Homeland Security recently declared parts of the plastics industry, including single-use plastics, as “essential critical infrastructure” during this unprecedented period. Some of the essential products include our nonwoven fabrics, which are used to manufacture face masks and protective apparel. In addition, our bottles are used for hand sanitizers, soaps, medicine, and more. Dispensing closures, food packaging, and buckets are also needed.
In recent weeks, there has been an outpouring of requests, even on social media, from hospitals and pharmacies. Our teams around the world have been more than happy to respond. Though global in footprint and scale, our employees are dedicated to caring for members of their communities-especially in times of need.
One of our teams donated protective gear to Granollers General Hospital in the Village of Cardedeu in Barcelona, which included 900 pairs of latex gloves, 1,000 pairs of nitriles gloves, 150 gowns, and 400 hairnets. “We immediately checked our stocks and looked for protective equipment that could be useful to the hospital’s medical staff without compromising the safety of our employees,” stated Pierre Bougrain, General Manager at Berry. In Germany, our team in Aschersleben donated materials to local hospitals and pharmacies, stating, “In these difficult times, we must stick together.”
In the Netherlands, another team responded to a late-night phone call from a business in Cujik that wished to produce all weekend in response to the spread of the virus. If the business had run out of the materials required, they stated this would cause harm to their community. We stepped in by immediately driving to our factory to find adequate material, which we gladly supplied. The material was used to create face masks.
Around the world, we are supporting our community partners to help protect what’s important. “I am extremely proud of the efforts of all our staff at our Heanor factory who are doing a fantastic job supporting our customers in the NHS,” stated Andrew Green, Chief Executive of Berry bpi, located in the United Kingdom. “We have turned over a large part of our capacity to meet their current demands for clinical waste sacks, as these are vital in the fight against infection and in keeping hospitals functioning.”
Click here to learn more about our efforts during the fight against COVID-19.