Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Covercraft Industries is expanding production of urgently needed personal protective equipment, mainly gowns and masks, for healthcare workers and first responders fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. |
Covercraft Producing Personal Protective Equipment
Covercraft Industries is expanding production of urgently needed personal protective equipment, mainly gowns and masks, for healthcare workers and first responders fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Covercraft’s expertise in working with non-woven specialty fabrics has allowed us to pivot our operations in the USA from crafting car covers, seat covers, and windshield sunscreens to helping provide hospitals and first responders with personal protective equipment incredibly fast”, said Clay Callan, president and COO of Covercraft Industries. “Orders will begin shipping today and we have capacity to potentially build hundreds of thousands of units. As an industry leader in the product categories we manufacture, we felt it was our duty to step in and help our country in this time of need.”
Groups or organizations in need of these PPE products should contact Covercraft at 405-367-8930 or covercraftppe@covercraft.com.
Impact Racing to Make Masks
Impact Racing, an Indianapolis-based manufacturer of helmets and racing gear, is switching production to keep its workers on the job and make items meant to keep people healthy. Former stock car racer Steve Barnett is now Franklin, Indiana’s mayor. He turned to the racing world to get face masks for his police officers and firefighters. Under normal circumstances, Impact Racing would be at the peak of making race-related gear from suits to helmets. But it's turned its production lines to make 100% cotton washable masks. For more information, visit www.impactraceproducts.com.
 DSM's two Stratasys FDM 3D printers are operating around-the-clock to produce headbands to be used as part of medical face shields. |
DSR/DSM Partner with Stratasys to Aid in the Fight of COVID-19 Pandemic
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) and Don Schumacher Motorsports (DSM) have joined the fight to help protect health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the growing need for supplies, DSM has teamed up with Stratasys to produce headbands, which will be used for medical face shields in healthcare facilities. DSM’s two Stratasys FDM 3D printers—the Stratasys Fortus 450mc and F370—are typically used for chassis fixturing, weldment fixturing, rapid prototype development and proofing out new components for DSR’s fleet of race cars. With NHRA drag racing at a temporary standstill, both printers have switched gears and are now working round-the-clock to churn out as many headbands as possible throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We take this pandemic very seriously and want to do our part to help,” said DSM owner Don Schumacher. “When our partners at Stratasys approached us about producing these crucial pieces for medical face shields, we didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes.’ We have the capability, so of course we wanted to do whatever we could to help support the vulnerable medical personnel that are working so hard during these unprecedented times.”
Upon completion, the DSM-produced headbands are turned over to Stratasys, who then installs clear shields to the bands. The finished goods are placed into inventory at the Stratasys warehouse, and then distributed to hospitals upon request via an online request form. For more information, visit www.shoeracing.com.
Port City Racecars Manufactures Portable Sneeze Guards
Port City Racecars, the race car chassis provider based in Mooresville, North Carolina, has started selling portable sneeze guards in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The see-through guards are designed for point-of-sale locations at places such as reception desks, grocery stores, gas stations and more. The standard size is 24-in. wide and 32-in. tall, but custom sizes are also available. For more information, visit www.portcityracecars.com.
Fleece Performance Producing Disposable Full Face Shields
Fleece Performance has redeployed its engineers and a portion of its flexible manufacturing space to develop, test, document and begin producing a patent-pending disposable full face shield for medical professionals who are running short on this form of personal protection equipment nationwide. Setting this mask apart is its ability to ship flat, requiring less than 2% of the shipping and storage space required by currently available face shields, exponentially reducing shipping and storage costs. The company has already begun deliveries to local hospitals. For more information, visit www.fleeceperformance.com.
 BendPak is opening a new 100,000-sq.-ft. distribution center near Mobile, Alabama. |
BendPak Opens East Coast Distribution Center
BendPak is opening a new 100,000-sq.-ft. distribution center near Mobile, Alabama, to better serve customers in the eastern United States. The administrative and shipping complex, which is expected to be fully operational within 60 days, will enable BendPak to deliver products same-day or next-day to more customers in the eastern half of the country. The new warehouse will stock all of BendPak’s products, and a future training facility will include a classroom and fully appointed service bay to offer customers an option for technical training on BendPak’s product lines. BendPak’s headquarters and distribution multiplex in Santa Paula, California, will continue offering shipping and order-fulfilment services to approximately 15 western states. BendPak’s new distribution center features a 3,600 sq.-ft. administrative office space, 15 dock doors and two oversize ramp doors.
Power Test Acquires Dynomite Dynamometer
Power Test Inc., a dynamometer and test system manufacturer located in Sussex Wisconsin, has acquired the assets of DynoMite Dynamometer—a 44 -year-old business located in Manchester, New Hampshire. This acquisition comes right on the tail of Power Test acquiring, moving and integrating another longtime competitor, SuperFlow Technologies, formerly of Des Moines, Iowa.
Al Anderson Named Peterson’s New Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Peterson Manufacturing has announced that Al Anderson has been named the company’s new vice president of sales and marketing, effective April 1. Most recently, Anderson was director of fleet business development for CIMC Intermodal Equipment, headquartered in South Gate, California. Prior to that, he was corporate director of heavy-duty sales for Peterson and helped launch the company’s PetersonPULSE Intelligent Trailer System. His previous stops include serving as national sales manager for Bose Corp.; director of national fleet accounts for JOST International; and national accounts manager for Consolidated Metco. For six years he chaired the Associates Group of the American Trucking Association’s 2,300-member Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), receiving their Recognized Associate Award and their Silver Spark Plug Award—trucking’s highest honor recognizing outstanding contributions to the industry. Anderson is also a past board member of the Truckload Carriers Association and is a Trustee of TCA’s Scholarship Fund. Anderson will head a sales and marketing force over 120 strong, including inside sales reps, customer support staff, marketing specialists, field sales and services personnel and manufacturers’ reps.
 SpeedVideo is releasing four brand-new automotive shows for drag-racing fans. “Burnout,” “Drag Racing Friends,” “Tech Inspection,” and “Rewind.” |
SpeedVideo.com Announces New Automotive Shows Debuting in April
SpeedVideo is releasing four brand-new automotive shows for drag-racing fans. “Burnout,” “Drag Racing Friends,” “Tech Inspection,” and “Rewind” will feature dynamic personalities from the sport starting next week. “Burnout” is the weekly drag-racing show hosted by Drag Illustrated’s Wes Buck, co-starring veteran drag-racing journalist Mike Galimi, and rising star drag racer Alex Taylor. The show features news, highlights, current events, commentary, opinions, recaps and a look ahead to the next week. “Drag Racing Friends” is a video talk show hosted by Chad Reynolds and co-host “Street Outlaws” star Kayla Morton. “Tech Inspection” is a tech-focused show featuring educational tech content for drag racers and street/strip enthusiasts. Hosted by Brian Petty, the show will discuss tuning, power adders, drivetrain, chassis setup, engine building and more. “Rewind” curates weekly, selected and highlighted drag-racing clips. Season 1 will entail 40 episodes between the four shows over the next three months. Full episodes will be live on SpeedVideo.com each week for subscribers, with one episode each month available to all via Speedvideo, Drag Illustrated, Dragzine, Facebook, and YouTube. In addition, for all four shows, show highlights, clips and cut-downs will be available across social media for free.
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