Page 26 - 2021 Westchester County Economic Development Guide

Westchester Forward
Advanced Manufacturing
Meeting the Moment
A New Rochelle business refocuses operations to manufacture PPE at the
beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the leadership of Richard Ellenbogen, Allied Converters has been making plastic food packaging in New Rochelle since it was founded by Ellenbogen’s father in 1954. The factory produces between 4 million and 5 million pounds of plastic packaging per year, including bags, sheets, cookie wrappers and sandwich wrapping for the food industry. But one of the company’s food service products – used by professional and home bakers – would be repurposed to have an outsized impact early in the pandemic.
In March of 2020, face shields were in short supply throughout the region, and the nation, as healthcare organizations struggled to source PPE during the growing public health crisis. At that time, Ellenbogen, concerned by the shortages, was struck with a realization: the plastic “cake collars,” which his factory produced to help cakes hold their shape, could be quickly repurposed to fill this critical need. He quickly pivoted his operations to manufacture one million clear plastic protective face shields, 300,000 of which were supplied to Montefiore Health System, at the nominal cost of 50 cents each,
45 per cent less than the hospital system had been quoted elsewhere.
Ellenbogen, whose business was minimally impacted by the pandemic, says he was gratified to be able to assist. “I believe in facemasks, and was an early adopter. Out of concern for all our safety, I required all of the staff to wear them at work early on in the pandemic,” says Ellenbogen. This forward thinking paid off: “None of the employees got COVID during 2020.”
An electrical engineer by training, Ellenbogen also made a name for himself when he started renovating his building
nearly 20 years ago with the goal of reducing its environmental impact. He has since turned it into one of the most energy-efficient operations in the state, producing over 80 per cent of its electricity on-premise via solar power and co-generation, and recovering the waste heat for re-use in heating or cooling the building. These efforts have reduced Allied’s overall energy costs by 70%.
Above: Baxter the robot helps keep operations running efficiently at New Rochelle-based Allied Converters.
IDEAS THAT STICK: BEACON ADHESIVES
Since the 1920s, Mount Vernon-based Beacon Adhesives continues to invent new adhesives, stirring up sealants, coatings, potting compounds and more. Crafters, designers, and engineers alike count on the creative adhesive company, for customized solutions in every field. From fashion accessories to aerospace technology and crafting to construction, the company produces products “so the modern maker can move forward.”
MICROMOLD PRODUCTS
Since 1950, Yonkers-based Micromold Products, Inc. has manufactured a broad line of corrosion resistant plastic products for the process industries. Micromold specializes in standard and custom products made from PTFE, PFA, & FEP and such other high-performance plastics as Kynar, polypropylene, PEEK, nylon, Kel-F, and UHMW polyethylene.
As one of the earliest processors of PTFE resins and fabricators of PTFE products, Micromold has developed a number of proprietary manufacturing processes, especially related to the manufacture of PTFE and PFA machined parts and weldments.
24 WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
© Richard Ellenbogen