News updates related to COVID-19

Posted April 10, 2020

Amid the daily news updates related to COVID-19, our team at Corporate Fuel has been moved by many stories from friends of the firm that shine a positive light on these difficult times. We want to share this good news about leaders and employees who are making extraordinary efforts to support their customers and communities. 

Alene Candles Switches Production to Face Shields for Medical Workers

Thousands of critically needed face shields are being made at Alene Candles in Milford, NH after the company was able to switch its production in seven days to producing face shields for medical workers. The company shut down production in the third week of March because of the COVID-19 outbreak. “We wanted to use our resources for part of the greater good,” said company President Rod Harl. “We pretty quickly narrowed in on the assembly of face shields as something we could turn on in under a week and be producing out of our New Hampshire facility.” A Maine plastics company donated the plastic, so the first run of the safety equipment is earmarked for Biddeford, Maine, emergency workers. “We’ll also make them available to EMS workers in Milford and surrounding communities, as well as a hospital system in Nashua and a visiting nurse association in Concord,” Harl said. “We downloaded a design from Johns Hopkins University…. an open-sourced face shield design.” Alene Candles employs about 200 people. Twenty are back on the line. The workers are at the facility voluntarily. The company is paying all its furloughed workers full wages.

Strategic Rail Solutions is moving high grade plastics from the Midwest to local PPE fabricators

Strategic Rail Solutions, a leading regional railcar service provider approved as an essential business in New Jersey, is moving multiple rail cars from the Midwest 6-days/week under this State of Emergency. Strategic Rail Solutions is transloading and moving different types of high-grade plastics and other raw materials used by PPE fabricators, as well as food grade liquids. The railcars are being interchanged with Norfolk Southern in Somerville, NJ, allowing them to service the North East area. With employee safety as the first priority, Strategic Rail Solutions is taking all precautionary measures to ensure the safe operation of their facility.