Page 94 - Innovation Delaware 2021

MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS
ILC Dover: Scaling Up for COVID Solutions
ILC Dover was already a leading manufacturer of high- performance flexible material for the aerospace, bulk packaging, flooding and pharmaceutical industries. But as the impact of COVID-19 bore down on frontline health care
workers early last year, the company was challenged to meet the skyrocketing demand for its powered air purifying respirators, and design and manufacture a protective hood at record speed.
According to Chief Operating Officer STEVE WARTHMAN, it was a year unlike any other. “It was an opportunity for us to do our part and when I looked at what we did — from setting up workstations to expediting materials — it was incredible.”
As demand accelerated by more than 1,000% in mid- February, ILC Dover added 100 new employees to its manufacturing base in Frederica and ramped up production to 30 times the previous monthly output — all while revamping its own production protocols to meet COVID-19 safety guidelines and keep its own workforce safe.
The company’s powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) are a health care industry staple that mitigates the risk of hazardous pathogens, according to Warthman. The device completely covers your head and filters air through a blower system.
Until early 2020, the hood was made by a separate supplier. But when its operations were diverted under the Defense Production Act, ILC Dover was forced to develop and manufacture the hood-in house. Within about 20 days from concept to prototype, the company developed and designed the EZ BioHood.
In April, the ILC Dover team announced that it had expedited the regulatory and manufacturing processes of a new product called the Sentinel EZ BioHood and that it was available for purchase. The hood works with ILC Dover’s blower system and features an Assigned Protection Factor of 1,000, 100 times the protection of N95 masks.
“The workforce here from my perspective was incredible,” says Warthman. “From putting in a second shift, and working
STEVE WARTHMAN
12- to 14-hour days to
get this set up, it’s a great testament to hourly workers, salary workers, and everybody who did everything they could to support those frontline workers. My sense of pride in this team is beyond words.”
Since then, ILC Dover — which employs 850 people at six facilities in North America, Europe and Asia — has examined
its emergency planning and response time. While no one could have predicted a world-wide pandemic that would squeeze the PPE manufacturing industry like never before, Warthman says it has helped shape the company’s emergency ramp-up strategy.
“How do we have a supply chain that is ready? Should we keep critical inventory in reserve? Then there’s the equation of bringing people in,” says Warthman. “These are the questions we’re looking at, because last year, it was the delay in materials showing up that drove our timeline. For the investment of some inventory and leaving some space, I think if we move forward, we’ll have a better pandemic plan and our response will be even better.”
While demand has slowed, Warthman says ILC Dover is still producing its PAPRs at a high clip. Its success is a testament
to the 75-year-old company’s ability to adapt and meet the greatest need of its customers.
“Everyone will look back at it as a difficult, challenging year, but it’s a mix for me — it was a high point in terms of what people can do collectively,” says Warthman. “ I’m proud to be
part of this team.”
—Christi Milligan
INNOVATION BY THE NUMBERS
20
Number of Delaware companies with more than 100 employees in the advanced chemicals and materials space
8,100
Number of Delawareans employed
in advanced chemicals and materials industry
25,000+
Number of Delaweans employed in manufacturing
$5 BILLION Economic impact of Delaware’s manufactured goods industry on GDP
5.8%
Percentage that Delaware manufacturing accounts
for in total employment
$276
BILLION
Combined market cap
of public advanced manufacturing companies in Delaware
92 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
Source: Delaware Prosperity Partnership