PPE manufacturer donates 750,000 face shields to educators for back-to-school

The Canadian Shield, manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Waterloo, Ontario, is donating 750,000 reusable face shields across Canada for use by teachers and educators returning to the classroom this fall.

The value of the 750,000 face shield donation is approximately $7.5-million.

The Canadian Shield is a recent addition to the Waterloo manufacturing region, having just opened its doors in March 2020. At the time, the company made a call to the community in Waterloo Region and across Ontario for help in 3D printing the visors for face shields, to maximize production capacity and reach as many front-line healthcare workers as possible.

Dozens of school boards from across Canada offered support, enabling the company to donate 20,000 shields to healthcare workers in those first few weeks.

“We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for the help of school boards across Ontario and organizations across Canada, who helped us 3D print face shield components in our early days,” says Jeremy Hedges, president of The Canadian Shield, in a statement. “This is our way of giving back to the community and supporting Canadian educators.”

The Canadian Shield was founded by InkSmith, an educational technology company specializing in 21st-century learning technologies. The company is now producing 200,000 face shields per day, as well as one million surgical masks per week.

Adding a new product

In addition to the 750,000 shield donation, The Canadian Shield is launching a new line of kids’ face shields.

Modelled after the original design, the kids’ face shield has been modified to fit children aged five to 12 years old. The company says it began producing kids shields after receiving feedback from customers seeking a suitable face shield option for children under 12 years of age.

In the next few months, the company will also begin manufacturing isolation gowns, with an anticipated capacity of six million gowns per year.

“We have invested heavily in PPE manufacturing and established reliable supply chains across Canada to ensure our nation is self-sustaining and in a position to combat any future global health crisis,” says Hedges.