Sinclair & Rush, a plastic and rubber product protection, has developed a low-cost, disposable face shield to be produced at its facility in Arnold, Missouri.

According to company officials, the new VisiGuard Face Shield provides full coverage of the face and neck and features a streamlined design that assembles in seconds. It’s made from a recyclable PET plastic, but can also be sterilized with isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or bleach cleaning solutions.

By replacing the foam padding used on most medical face shields with plastic comfort pads molded directly into the shield, it cannot only be produced more quickly, but the design eliminated these foam materials that can harbor contaminants, officials said.

“While we are not on the front lines of war against COVID-19, our manufacturing plants are making vital plastic components for ventilators and other medical equipment,” said Brad Philip, CEO of Sinclair & Rush, Inc. “We wanted a way to protect our employees without competing with hospitals for the PPE they so badly need.”

Sinclair & Rush’s engineering team was presented with the challenge to protect its workers on Friday, March 27, designed an initial prototype by Monday, March 30 and went into production on April 7, a company spokesperson said. The shield is being made in a clean room environment within its St. Louis area production facility that has the capacity to make 20,000 shields per day with significant opportunity to expand.

The company has manufacturing centers in Arnold and Fenton Missouri, as well as Carlstadt, New Jersey. “We have initially sold our shield to other companies that need to protect their workers, but we are working to develop a complete line of face shield products, including models designed specifically for the medical industry,” said Jeff Barket, Director of Sales & Marketing.