Amcor Shelbyville helps first responders during COVID-19
Sustainability
May 5, 2020Reading time: 2 minutes
In Shelbyville, Kentucky, the Amcor Flexibles team saw a means to give back to the community by donating personal protective equipment, while maintaining delivery for Amcor customers.
Their ongoing efforts have been praised by local emergency services and the customers who continue to rely on the Shelbyville team to provide packaging for essential items delivered to people, worldwide.
In Shelbyville, Kentucky, the Amcor Flexibles team saw a means to give back to the community by donating personal protective equipment, while maintaining delivery for Amcor customers.
Their ongoing efforts have been praised by local emergency services and the customers who continue to rely on the Shelbyville team to provide packaging for essential items delivered to people, worldwide.
Jeff (left) and Andrew in Amcor's Shelbyville manufacturing site in Kentucky
Helping those who help us
Jeff Salmon and Andrew Rickard, co-workers at Amcor Flexibles Healthcare Packaging Shelbyville, enjoy looking out for others. At work, in addition to their operations roles, they serve as part of the site’s safety team. What’s more, in their spare time, they volunteer with local emergency services, risking their safety for the good of Shelbyville’s tight-knit community of 40,000, just 30 miles east of Louisville.
When they were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was natural for them to think about how they could help others.
The site had N95 face masks ready for use ever since the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009. Still in protective packaging, the masks were a precious resource for those at the frontline.
Operations manager, Jeff, explains what they did next:
“Several of our team mates came to me suggesting we donate N95 masks and we quickly arranged to distribute 15 cases to local first responders and hospital workers. We were happy to do it; to serve our community.”
Rather than waiting for a delivery truck, Andrew used his own vehicle to personally deliver all 3,600 spare masks to emergency services around the county. What drove him, he says, was a sense of giving back.
“We wanted to support the people who help us when we need help, and that’s the county and city police, and fire service. If anything were to happen at our site, they would be the first to respond. So, it felt right to give something back. They put their lives on the line every day,” said Andrew.
The local emergency services were extremely thankful for the generosity of the team and posted on the Shelbyville Fire & Rescue Facebook profile.
Recognition from customers
The Amcor team in Shelbyville isn’t just helping others through charitable donations. The work they do every day produces packaging for food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, home- and personal-care products, and more. With these goods being even more vital today, the site has been listed as an essential business and continues to operate with a host of safety procedures in place to protect people.
Jeff has received numerous letters from customers thanking the team for continuing to make packaging for medicines and ventilators that are used on the front line to combat COVID-19.
“I share the letters with the production team. I want them to know that their efforts are helping a greater good,” said Jeff.
AF Shelbyville Health care and AF Shelbyville Food share a building, but up until the close of the Amcor and Bemis combination, they didn’t share a corporate logo. Today, the facility houses about 325 Amcor employees, bringing together the former Bemis Food and Amcor Healthcare plants. The site is part of Amcor Flexibles North America’s 37-plant network across 18 U.S. states. AFNA is one of Amcor’s six business groups.
The local emergency services were extremely thankful for the generosity of the team and posted on the Shelbyville Fire & Rescue Facebook profile.
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