At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WOODCHUCK USA founder and chairman, Ben VandenWymelenberg got a late-night call from a friend that would put our company on a new, life-saving trajectory. Phoning from the then-epicenter of the pandemic, Ben’s friend needed 10,000 face shields for medical professionals fighting on the front lines in New York. Could WOODCHUCK do it?

We had a choice to make. A choice to halt production of custom wood products to become a manufacturer of life-saving PPE at a time when the world so desperately needed it. This was the birth of WOODCHUCK Medical.

With much of the United States’ quick access to the global PPE network severed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we at WOODCHUCK knew that domestic businesses like ours would need to step up to meet the demand of not only our local community, but the entire nation.

The WOODCHUCK team worked relentlessly to find distribution partners and real estate to assemble 250,000 units of face shields per day. In the process, we created over 450 jobs at a time when many businesses were laying off or furloughing workers. Today, we are one of the largest face shield manufacturers in the United States – sending millions of face shields to doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and now to professionals in any industry looking to safely operate their businesses.

We’re proud to be a 3M Preferred Converter of face shields. This is a status that only exists in the top 1% of 3M partners, and is reserved for partners truly on the cutting edge of technology and manufacturing. This incredible partnership has given us a virtually limitless supply chain and access to state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.

From face shields, we’ve expanded our offerings to include personal care kits, physical barriers and safety hooks. We see these products as essential in promoting health and safety for everyone during the pandemic (and beyond).

At WOODCHUCK USA, we have always been a mission-driven company. Our mission is to put nature back into people’s lives, with the end game being to make the world a better place. Our expansion as WOODCHUCK MEDICAL extends our mission by creating the products the world needs right now to stay healthy and fight the pandemic.

If you’d like to learn how you can help yourself, friends, family members, or employees feel safer, visit WOODCHUCK Medical.