The Canadian Shield awarded two top Industry Leadership Honours for response to COVID-19

Hosted by industry Canadian Manufacturing Daily, PLANT and EP&T Magazines, the Responding to COVID: Industry Leadership Honours recognize Canadian manufacturers who stepped up to help battle the spread of COVID-19

The Canadian Shield, a Waterloo Region-based Personal Protective Equipment manufacturer and subsidiary of Accelerator Centre Graduate InkSmith , announced it has been named the recipient of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Large Manufacturer Award and the Ultimate COVID Hero Award by industry news media publications Canadian Manufacturing Daily, PLANT and EP&T Magazine as part of their Responding to COVID: Industry Leadership Honours awards program. 

The Responding to COVID: Industry Leadership Honours recognizes Canadian manufacturers and their achievements as they joined in the fight against the pandemic in March 2020. These achievements include the manufacturing of PPE to protect frontline workers; developing products to assist the sick, accelerate testing and protect Canadians; and creating innovations that will have a lasting impact post-pandemic. 

RELATED: The Canadian Shield Donates 750,000 Face Shields to Schools Across Canada

As the recipient of these two awards, The Canadian Shield is being recognized for making a significant, novel impact on Canada’s PPE supply and the pandemic overall through the scope of its efforts, the ingenuity displayed during the process, the challenges that it had to overcome and the lasting difference it made in spite of the challenges. 

Founded in March 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 global health pandemic by education technology company InkSmith, the company pivoted its operations to address the shortage of protective gear for frontline staff in hospitals and medical facilities. The Canadian Shield is now one of Canada’s largest PPE manufacturers building the foundation for a sustainable domestic supply chain.

Since receiving its Medical Device Establishment license from Health Canada in March, The Canadian Shield has manufactured over 16 million face shields for frontline and essential workers across the country. The company has also expanded into manufacturing procedural masks and is currently scaling production of ASTM Level 1, 2 and 3 rated masks with more than 10 automation lines running around the clock.

“This is an important milestone on our path to building a world leading Canadian medical device design and manufacturing organization. We’re honoured to be recognized alongside other industry leaders that took on COVID as we celebrate excellence in Canadian manufacturing, and I’m proud of our team who all share in this national recognition.”

Jeremy Hedges, President of The Canadian Shield

Above and beyond the high-quantity orders that it is fulfilling for a variety of critical industries, the company has donated hundreds of thousands of its face shields to frontline and essential workers across the country, in addition to fulfilling various contracts with government bodies and health authorities. 

The Canadian Shield is investing to become a world leader in medical equipment design and manufacturing. In extending its reach internationally, the company will be able to offer PPE products to healthcare providers and essential workers around the world. Details on these investments will be available in the weeks ahead.

For a complete list of Responding to COVID: Industry Leadership Honours winners and more information about the awards program, click here.