Montgomery County manufacturer switches gears to produce PPE for hospitals

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The factory floor at Timberlane, Inc., a window shutter manufacturer in Montgomeryville is usually filled with more than 60 employees. Most were furloughed when all non-essential businesses shut down.

On Monday, however, a lot of them will come back to work, but not to produce window shutters.

"We received our essential status, we're pivoting most of our business over to what we're I guess calling emergency products," said CEO Rick Skidmore.

Skidmore said he realized he could switch gears on his production floor and make life-saving products for healthcare workers instead.

"One of the things that started to gain traction was these PPE face shields, these shields that protect the frontline medical workers against infectious splatter," he said.

Other than the face shields, the company will also be producing exam boxes.

The contraptions have three walls and a top made of glass. The patient's head goes inside. At the top, two holes are cut out for the physician's hands, making it possible for physicians to work on patients with a barrier to protect themselves.

"One of the things that's important to us and aligns with our culture is we're doing these at cost, so we're not profiting from this," said Skidmore.

It's a service already in high demand. Skidmore says he has an order for half a million products to a hospital in New York.

"If it's a vehicle to keep our workers busy... at a time when our core business is suffering greatly, then we feel it's a win-win," he said.

To make sure his employees feel secure in a time of insecurity, "I made the decision to guarantee salary and benefits for 90 days," he said.