Manufacturers Step Up in the Fight Against COVID-19

May 11, 2020

As Texas and the United States move forward to recover from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 crisis, it is a reminder of how critical manufacturing is to our everyday lives.

Just a few months ago, most Texans might not have known what the terms PPE or “social distancing” meant, but as we continue to move forward, we wanted to highlight just a few ways Texas manufacturers quickly adapted to retool operations to meet the demand for critical products needed to protect healthcare workers, first responders, patients and the public.

Boeing has donated tens of thousands of units of PPE — including face masks, goggles, gloves, safety glasses and protective bodysuits — to support health care professionals battling COVID-19 in some of the hardest-hit locations in the United States.

The Bayer Company joined the U.S. Government's fight against COVID-19 with a donation of 3 million tablets of the drug Resochin (chloroquine phosphate).

GM and Ventec Life Systems, in cooperation with StopTheSpread.org, the nation's coordinated private sector response to the COVID-19, are collaborating to enable Ventec to increase production of its respiratory care products to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Ventec will leverage GM’s logistics, purchasing and manufacturing expertise to build more ventilators.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the first participants have been dosed in the U.S. in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19. The trial is part of a global development program. Pfizer and BioNTech are ramping up manufacturing capabilities to further increase production capacity in 2020/2021.

BASF Corporation is providing the state of Texas with 1,100 gallons of hand sanitizer manufactured at the company’s facilities in Wyandotte, Michigan and Washington, New Jersey free of charge. The sanitizing product will help meet the increased demands needed to safely combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sanofi and Luminostics have signed an agreement to evaluate a collaboration on a unique self-testing solution for COVID-19, using Luminostics’ innovative technology, and further adding to Sanofi’s ongoing efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on multiple fronts.

Koch Industries, through their companies like Georgia-Pacific, is working to produce essentials such as bath tissue, paper towels and hand sanitizer. Phillips-Medisize is ensuring that the supply chain for its pharmaceutical and medical device customers remains uninterrupted. Molex is helping to manufacture life-saving ventilators.

Additionally, many TAM member companies have donated resources and funds to assist as many Texans as possible.

Tyson Foods, Inc. is doubling bonuses, increasing short-term disability coverage, implementing additional health screening measures and offering $120 million in “thank you bonuses” for 116,000 U.S. frontline workers and truckers.

Texas Instruments (TI) & the TI Foundation have granted more than $10M to COVID-19 relief efforts in communities where they operate around the world.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. pledged $150,000 to organizations in the Coastal Bend region providing essential services to those most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. These donations are being made as part of Cheniere’s more than $1 million commitment to organizations across the globe in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Several manufacturers are supporting All Together ATX, an effort to marshal resources to help those hurt by the coronavirus disruption, from restaurant workers suddenly out of jobs to parents now caring for multiple children at home.

Applied Materials, Inc. is taking a multi-faceted approach to its COVID-19 relief efforts by addressing immediate humanitarian needs and long-term impacts on the nonprofit sector. Applied is directing grants from the Applied Materials Foundation to its long-term community partner, the Central Texas Food Bank, and to the All Together ATX fund. Applied also donated 3-D printed face shields and N95 masks to local medical facilities and hand-sanitizing wipes to Caritas, an organization that serves the homeless.

Freeport LNG donated $500,000 to Methodist Hospital in Houston for the hospital’s Infectious Disease Research Fund (IDRF): Combating COVID 19. Freeport LNG’s donation to the IDRF will help support several different research projects that include treatments and preventative strategies and innovations in personal protective equipment. Freeport LNG also donated $100,000 to a variety of local Brazoria County organizations that directly assist individuals and families who are negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and $100,000 to the Greater Houston COVID-19 Fund – a joint effort with United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation.

We are proud to see the spirit of generosity alive and well in Texas and beyond and we’re proud of our members' contributions to the cause.