front_line_blogWe are proud to announce recognition from Zebra Technologies for supporting front-line workers during the pandemic. Zebra awarded StayLinked with a $5,000 charitable donation which will be contributed to Team Rubicon, an organization that serves communities by mobilizing veterans to continue their service by helping people prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises.

Stay Linked Provided 3D Printed Face Shields for Front-line Pandemic Workers

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, StayLinked employees explored what was possible in trying to help meet some of the challenges facing front-line workers in fighting the disease. The effort focused on organizations that were crowdsourcing incredibly scarce medical personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies for healthcare workers. StayLinked's team was able to repurpose and scale up the 3D printing equipment within the innovative StayLinked Labs facilities to produce durable face shields that could be repeatedly sanitized for multiple uses.
 
"It's incredible the impact a small, focused team can make," said Justin Griffith, CTO, StayLinked. Senior developers at StayLinked, Mark McGary and Dwayne Miller, joined Justin in printing the reusable face shields. "It was a very inspiring and educational experience," Justin continued. We collaborated with people all over the world on safer, more efficient designs for the shields. The whole industry banded together to help us distribute shields where they were most needed. And the outpouring of support for the effort from customers, partners, and even competitors helped drive home what people, companies, and industries can do when working toward a common goal."
 

StayLinked and Zebra

"We are deeply indebted to the workers on the front lines of the pandemic who continue to risk their own safety in the midst of this crisis," said Justin. "And we are thankful to Zebra Technologies for their contribution on our behalf to Team Rubicon. We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition from Zebra."

StayLinked relied on its partnerships throughout the industry, including its partnership with Zebra, to improve designs, refine manufacturing processes, source raw materials, and perhaps most importantly to distribute the items to those on the front lines most in need. "We even used Zebra Windows tablets to help us manage the configuration and operation of the 3D printing equipment," says Justin Griffith, CTO at StayLinked. "Once the protective equipment was manufactured using the 3D printers, many contacts in Zebra and its partner community reached out to request needed items for their contacts in the medical field and essential worker industries. Zebra Sales Engineer, John Wolf, was responsible for our first interstate delivery of PPE."

Zebra PartnerConnect

Zebra Technologies is an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge. In celebration of its 30th anniversary as a public company and the 5th anniversary of the award-winning Zebra® PartnerConnect program, Zebra invited its members to share their stories about how they are restoring front-line heroes. StayLinked was one of six winners selected this month by a panel of judges.

"We are proud to recognize StayLinked for its commitment to empowering front-line workers with technology to help them deliver a performance edge," said Rob Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Global Integrated Marketing and Channels for Zebra Technologies. "We also thank all those on the front line who are working hard to keep us healthy and secure."

» View the Press Release