Technology for good: Honeywell transforms plant production in times of need

Guest Blogger: Joe Toubes, V.P. of Global Marketing, Honeywell

As the Vice President of Global Marketing for Honeywell, Joe Toubes oversees the end-to-end customer experience for Honeywell’s diverse global portfolio. He is responsible for managing the Honeywell brand while transforming the Honeywell marketing team into a digital-first demand generation machine. He is currently leading a global transformation of Honeywell’s digital footprint and core capabilities. Joe has spent more than 17 years at Honeywell leading global marketing and communications organizations in both its Transportation and Oil & Gas businesses. Prior to Honeywell, Joe spent a decade in agency life, with stints at both MSLPR and Fleishman-Hillard, where he led large corporate accounts including General Motors and Nike. He is a graduate of American University, School of Public Affairs. Joe married up and has two amazing teenage boys who are both headed to the Major Leagues.

Honeywell's Arizona site — The outside of Honeywell’s Arizona site, where we quickly shifted our production focus in the wake of Covid-19.

Over the past few months thousands of companies across the globe have pivoted from normal day-to-day operations in order to help customers and communities cope with and respond to the recent pandemic. Honeywell is no different.

I’m proud of what we’ve done here at Honeywell to shift from business-as-usual production to production of critical materials for those in our community. We are committed to supporting our employees, customers, communities and partners like Cisco in the global response against the COVID-19 pandemic.

As masks began flying off shelves, and demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) rose rapidly, we expanded our plants in Rhode Island and Arizona to produce disposable N95 masks. Normally, this type of new operation would take as long as nine months to set up, but our teams were able to start up production at the two facilities in just five weeks toto begin delivering masks to the federal government as well as state and local entities.

Together, the two plants are ramping up to produce more than 20 million masks per month for healthcare workers, emergency response and other critical infrastructure needs. And the shift in production for both plants not only supplied millions with critical supplies, but also resulted in 1,000 new jobs combined.

But we haven’t stopped there. Our Newhouse facility in Scotland began producing 4.5 million respirator masks per month beginning in July, creating an additional 450 jobs. These masks will benefit the National Health Service and social care workers in the United Kingdom, helping protect U.K. front line workers. And we recently announced that our Fulgaon facility in India will also shift to producing N95 masks. It’s estimated that at peak production, the facility will produce 2 million masks per month.

Boxes of hand sanitizer produced at the Muskegon, MI, Honeywell plant

Two other facilities were transformed, converting production to hand sanitizer plants, one in Muskegon, Michigan, and the other in Seelze, Germany. To date, all hand sanitizer produced in the Michigan plant is being donated to FEMA, and the Seelze plant hand sanitizer to the Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs, and Equality.

Honeywell is also committed to helping its customers to quickly adjust to address new needs. When the Miami Beach Convention Center converted 250,000 square feet into an alternative care facility, we upgraded the building management system, improving the circulation of fresh air within the building. We also updated its security system to regulate access to restricted areas and updated the CCTV system.

In just two and a half weeks, the construction and installation of the 450-bed alternative care facility, including 50 ICU isolation rooms, was completed thanks to help from the MBCC, the city of Miami, Miami-Dade county, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, B&I Mechanical, construction firm Robins and Morton, and many others.

Honeywell remains committed to doing our part for our customers and communities in need of critical supplies and services. We work with partners like Cisco to transform the way we deliver care, services and business for tomorrow.