After seeing a photo of a nurse without a proper facemask, Sailing Specialty Partners, Inc., decided to find a way to help out local Marylanders on the front lines.

The Southern Maryland-based business is no stranger to manufacturing plastic parts, such as bait boxes and drink holders for sailboats, but it recently took on a new challenge and started producing critically-needed PPE for the state of Maryland and its hospital workers.

By pulling resources together and looking at its existing plastic and rubber capabilities, the company felt it was well-equipped to start giving back to the community and those in need during the pandemic. The company now produces approximately 25,000 face shields each day, and believes face shields are completely essential for businesses to reopen safely across the country.

“We actually partnered with a company that had been forced to lay off a lot of people. They stepped up and were able to hire back close to 70 employees. That’s almost a $2 million payroll, and they’ve helped us completely scale up our production,” said Doug Kinney, co-owner of Sailing Specialty Partners.

This video, brought to you by the Maryland Department of General Services, is part of a new series highlighting #MarylandStrong businesses working to combat the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the state. For more #MarylandStrong partnerships, follow along on YouTube.