In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees at Vortex designed and produced cleanable, and reusable, face shields for the local hospital, Salina Regional Health Center.

Initially, the visor frames were 3D printed using a design that has been shared across the globe to create shields during the pandemic. Vortex engineers and programmers enhanced this design for its router and waterjet programs and began producing the frames that could support a more robust and reusable protective shield.

After an initial donation of 100 disposable shields, it became clear that a reusable shield design was necessary to prevent shortages in the Salina-area medical community. In working with the hospital and its clinics, Vortex delivered approximately 200 reusable face shields last week.

“Many of our Vortex team members stepped up and put in a lot of extra effort to deliver face shields to our regional medical center,” commented Vortex CEO, Travis Young. “Salina is a very tight knit community, and it is great to see how we take care of each other in difficult times. Vortex couldn’t have a better place to call home.”

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In addition to the production of face shields, Vortex temporarily shifted from producing the Vortex Iris

Valve to creating face masks for its essential employees. Sewing machines typically used to create Iris Valve sleeves were used to sew the masks.

As a company that manufactures and distributes critical process equipment utilized in the production of food, medicine, cleaning agents, emergency utility vehicles, medical equipment, toilet paper, tissues, petroleum, batteries, etc., Vortex remains fully operational at each of its worldwide locations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance to U.S. Homeland Security’s Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19 Response, and by decree of the State of Kansas, Vortex’s business operations are considered “Essential Business” and its employees are considered an “Essential Infrastructure Workforce”. Vortex will remain operational as long as this guidance remains in place.

About Vortex:

For more than 40 years, Vortex has provided quality slide gates, diverters, iris valves and loading spouts designed specifically for handling dry bulk solids in gravity, vacuum, dilute, or dense phase applications. Vortex valves and spouts are engineered for dependability, durability, easy maintenance, and offer proven solutions to material handling and process efficiency problems. With an in-house team of engineers, Vortex products can be completely customised for individual applications or special installations.

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