Courtesy photo From left, Gabe Kluka ‚EMP, Drs. Eric and Elizabeth Knudsen, Anna Valiquette and Molly Tackman of Escanaba Robomos Team.

ESCANABA — Engineered Machined Products (EMP) has made betterment of the community and support of youth programs a cornerstone of its corporate engagement mission for over 25 years. Clearly 2020 was no exception as the EMP team once again fulfilled its mission of giving back as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, noted Paul Harvey, vice president of EMP. “Working closely with community manufacturing partners including Kobasic Creations (Jake Kobasic), Hurley Marine (Todd Hurley) and Andex Industries (John Anthony), along with the Escanaba High Robomos Team, over 1,000 3-D printed face-shields were created. We learned these Face-shields were very difficult for end-users to source through their normal purchasing channels, and the need was great, particularly in dental practices across Michigan.”

Once discovering the need, EMP partnered with Drs. Eric and Elizabeth Knudsen, Pathways of State of Michigan, and others to appropriately distribute what ultimately became a high demand product to essential workers. Donations from recipients were made directly to the Escanaba High School Robotics Team.

According to Gabe Kluka of EMP, “as COVID emerged, our folks were feeling a bit helpless and wondered how we could help make a difference. After discussions to find ways to help essential workers hardest hit by the pandemic, a plan was quickly initiated by the EMP Team to print 3-D face-shields for essential workers across Delta County. The effort beyond Delta County grew substantially based upon need‚”