Falcon Plastics mass produces ear guards for health care workers  

May 18, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

What began as a request between friends has led to a more comfortable day for nearly 100,000 health care workers.

Falcon Plastics president Jay Bender knew there had to be a way his multigeneration family business could help during the COVID-19 pandemic. He had been contacted about potentially producing face shields or masks, but “we couldn’t find something we could help with in a reasonable way,” he said. “And this popped up, and we jumped on it.”

The fit was found thanks to a call from Stacy Wrightsman of Sanford Health’s community relations team, who knew Bender through a state business program and that Falcon Plastics had 3D printing capabilities.

She was looking for a way to produce ear guard mask holders, which take pressure off health care workers’ ears when they wear a face mask for a long time.

“And I talked with people here and decided we could build a mold really quick and mold them way faster,” Bender said.

It normally would take up to 12 weeks to design and build this kind of a mold, he said. Falcon got it done in one week.

“She called me on a Thursday, and we were producing parts the following Friday,” he said.

So far, Falcon Plastics has shipped out more than 76,000 and have about 50,000 in process. They started by offering them to areas where they have manufacturing facilities – including Brookings and Madison, and the Nashville and Portland, Ore., areas. Others went to a children’s hospital in Colorado. In all, more than 55 medical facilities in nine states have received them so far.

“We tried to reach out to as many medical facilities as possible,” Bender said. “We’ve shipped to each of our facilities, and they’ve been reaching out to hospitals, nursing homes, anyone who needs them.”

The design for the ear guards was created by a 13-year-old boy in Canada who made them on his 3D printer as part of a Scouting project. Falcon found his mother and sent him 2,000 ear guards.

The company also reached out to South Dakota Biotech and provided hundreds of free ear guards for its association members.

“Many of our members wear face masks in their daily work, so we were happy to be able to provide these to them,” said Joni Johnson, South Dakota Biotech’s executive director.

“This is just another example of how our South Dakota companies are stepping up to innovate and meet needs.”

Falcon Plastics is based in Brookings and was founded in 1975 by Don and Carol Bender. It molds customers’ ideas for everything from medical and pharmaceutical products to common household items.

It first began dealing with COVID-19 early this year when its factory had to close for several weeks in China.

“Some of our employees weren’t allowed to travel, and orders are still slow there, but we are running,” Bender said. “We are producing product, but their economy is still ramping back up. Things are coming back slow.”

The operations in the U.S. have learned COVID-19 mitigation strategies from their Chinese counterparts and vice versa, he added.

They’re in frequent communication. Practices such as daily cleaning and temperature checks, distancing and encouraging masks are “all things they were doing in our China facility, and they seemed to work, so that’s what we’re doing now,” Bender said.

He expects a similar slow climb in business in the U.S.

“It’s a little scary, but I am still very optimistic what it’s going to look like on the other side. We just don’t know how long it’s going to take to get through this.”

The company has seen demand for bottles it produces that hold sanitizer as well as “anything home improvement-related,” he said, although there have been drops in demand for automotive-related products.

The ear guards won’t turn profits for the company, he added.

“It was just a way for us to pitch in, and our employees felt really good about doing it and knowing they’re helping people on the front lines even in a small way.”

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Falcon Plastics mass produces ear guards for health care workers  

A Scout’s design, a request from a friend and some South Dakota ingenuity have led to a more comfortable day for nearly 100,000 health care workers.

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