JK Automotive Nominated as Manufacturer of the Year
State Representative Michael S. Day recently announced JK Automotive Designs as his nomination for Manufacturer of the Year in the 31st Middlesex District. The 5th Annual Manufacturing Awards, hosted by the Commonwealth’s Legislative Manufacturing Caucus, recognize manufacturers who have adapted and pivoted in response to the pandemic, stepping up to produce desperately needed personal protective equipment and other vitally important products for the pandemic response. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 27th.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, JK Automotive literally shifted gears, retrofitting their state-of-the-art laser cutters and printers to mass-produce personal protective equipment free of charge for health care workers desperately in need of supplies. Creating a unique design and using materials that were intended to be used in custom automotive interior installations, JK Automotive manufactured hundreds of face shields around-the-clock. Because of the quality of materials used, JK Automotive’s shields could withstand a thorough disinfectant process after each use, allowing front line workers to keep their focus on the individuals in need of immediate help.
“JK Automotive’s willingness to shift gears in the middle of a pandemic to help support frontline workers, who so desperately needed PPE, exemplifies why I nominated them as Manufacturer of the Year in the 31st Middlesex District,” said Representative Day. “This recognition is entirely appropriate, but also falls short of capturing the impact JK Automotive made on all the frontline workers who received the personal protective equipment they so desperately needed. I deeply appreciate the Caucus’ acceptance of my nomination in naming JK Automotive as a Manufacturer of the Year.”
“Typically here at JK Automotive Designs we build one-of-a-kind automotive interiors for our clients. When the pandemic hit, we initially wanted to 3D print a few face shields for a local nurse, who one of my employees knew. After about 30 minutes of designing we had our own face shield cad file. With our new design, we were able to cut 45 face shields every 15 minutes,” said Jeremy Katz, owner of JK Automotive Designs. “We initially said we would make about 500 shields and donate them to local hospitals. But we then decided to share our file with our 12v industry friends across the country. Our industry was then able to make and distribute over 200,000 face shields across the country. It was an amazing effort from everyone involved. Our industry came together as a team and we were the fire extinguishers until the fire trucks came through.”
At the height of the pandemic, JK Automotive produced more than 200 face shields daily and dozens of intubation boxes, protecting medical professionals from any air-borne particles during the process of intubating individuals in dire situations. Upon receiving recognition from national media outlets for their work, JK Automotive’s owner, Jeremy Katz, created a GoFundMe page to raise money for materials used to produce the PPE. JK Automotive then donated the funds and their PPE designs and processes to other automotive shops around the country, resulting in the immediate production and distribution of thousands of pieces of PPE to frontline workers. Foregoing any profit while producing PPE, JK Automotive continued to pay all of their employees and donated all of the PPE it manufactured to frontline workers without charge.