Axalta has announced that it is leveraging its global operations and technical know-how to provide critical equipment and products to people and organizations in its local communities around the world.

“Axalta is committed to worldwide efforts to support the safety, health and well-being of hospital professionals, first responders and our employees,” said Robert Bryant, CEO of Axalta. “Our entire global Axalta family is pulling together to use our collective energy and resources to help fight coronavirus in the communities where we live, work and raise our families.

“We are putting our manufacturing might and supply inventories to work in order to offer products that will make a difference where they are needed most – whether that be in hospital rooms, on ambulances or on the manufacturing floor. We will continue to look for opportunities to leverage our capabilities to the fullest and remain steadfast in our goal of serving our communities and the true heroes on the front lines of this fight.”

Axalta’s coronavirus relief efforts include:

• Production of thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer: Axalta’s plants in Front Royal, Va; Mount Clemens, Mich.; Tlalnepantla, Mexico; Guarulhos, Brazil; and Wuppertal, Germany, are shifting their manufacturing to produce thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer that meets the high standards of the World Health Organization. This vital product will be donated to local hospitals and first responders, as well as used at Axalta plants to ensure the safety of employees and their families.
• Sending much-needed PPE to hospitals globally: Axalta is donating personal protective equipment (PPE) such as facemasks (including its N-95 inventory), coveralls, closed hoods and protective sleeves to hospitals throughout the world. Medical professionals can use the PPE normally worn in Axalta’s manufacturing facilities and by our customers to reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting coronavirus. These donations have thus far occurred in the U.S., France, Belgium and Germany.
• Providing seat covers to medical professionals: Axalta is donating more than 5,000 seat covers, typically used in body shops, to local hospitals that are low on protective supplies. Medical professionals use the seat covers in their own cars to reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus when they are visiting those affected by COVID-19.

Axalta has now been on the front lines of coronavirus efforts for several months. In February, to rapidly fulfill a critical need order at the request of a major customer, Axalta’s Changchun, China plant was granted a special permit to resume work (after all employee safety requirements were met) to manufacture paint for a fleet of ambulances that were in high demand at the peak of the outbreak in China.