With 100,000 face shields on the production line, an East Butler company is helping reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

With 100,000 face shields on the production line, an East Butler company is helping reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

IDL also plans to donate face shields to local police departments and volunteer fire departments.

Typically, IDL produces marketing and retail products, but the company temporarily shifted production to make a two-piece face shield for retail industry service workers.

The company made the switch after realizing there was a high demand for the product and a limited supply, according to Kevin Peters, head of IDL's print business.

He expects the company to continue making face shields through at least the summer and noted the move made sense.

COVID-19 is transferred primarily through person-to-person contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Face shields are designed to offer protection from fluids that may contain the coronavirus.

“We are incredibly proud of the efforts of our employees in Butler to quickly realign our capabilities in a way that benefits our communities in the Greater Pittsburgh region and beyond with a product that is so desperately needed,” said Peter Beck, president of IDL.

The company will ship its first production of 100,000 masks Monday through a supplier that will distribute them in New Jersey and New York. And in the next week, IDL expects to produce 500,000 masks.

“The demand is so high we're working with eight different co-packers,” Peters said. “When you have to produce half-million a week, that's a lot to do in a week. So from a labor standpoint, it's more than we could do. So we're working with other companies to deliver it.”

After that, the company expects to continue to produce 500,000 shields each week. Peters said much of the equipment the company uses for its sign printing business, like the cutting equipment, works well for the conversion to face shields.

“It makes sense to help the community,” Peters said. “The face shield doesn't eliminate but certainly lessens exposure.”

The face shields will be available to retail and medical companies, both locally and nationally. One local customer is the Butler County Prison.

“As a leader for decades within the retail merchandising sector, we immediately saw the need for personal barrier shields to assist retail service workers who are also putting their well-being at risk to keep stores open so that food and medicine remain accessible to the public,” Peters said. “They are our friends, our family members and our clients. They are also heroes.”

Additionally, Peters said, the company is using its printing capabilities to make virus instructional signs for Giant Eagle and other retailers that need to remind customers of coronavirus precautions like standing 6 feet from others.

The move to join the fight against the coronavirus is also good for employee morale.

The company, which started in 1943 as a small printer, has a history of helping out in times of crisis. IDL assisted the U.S. military during World War II by producing labels for first aid kits and other military supplies.

“From an employee standpoint, it gives them meaning to come to work,” Peters said. “As certain businesses aren't open, our employees know they're contributing to the greater good. It's the right thing to do and come into work and support.”