Industrial Design alumnus retools company to fight COVID-19

Auburn University Industrial Design alumnus Tom Dempsey, founder and CEO of the highly successful outdoor products company SylvanSport, recently has re-tooled his company to join the fight against COVID-19. SylvanSport has added personal protective equipment, or PPE, to its production output, a move it was well-suited to make because of Dempsey’s background as an FDA-approved medical device manufacturer. The company was able to make this shift in production rapidly because its existing supply chain included all of the components needed for PPE.

Equipment currently under production by SylvanSport for medical care workers and essential businesses includes disposable face shields, protective Tyvek suits, counter guards, foot-operated door openers and medical tents. The company has made this change in production in order to best serve the general public, but also in the interest of keeping the dedicated and highly valued SylvanSport team employed during the pandemic.