This article is part of the Family Enterprise USA ongoing series showcasing how family businesses are helping their employees, supporting local communities, and giving back during the COVID 19 pandemic.<\/em><\/p>\n Historically, explains second-generation CEO Bill Lee, the company\u2019s work with ventilator makers \u201cdidn\u2019t really amount to a lot of business, so we never even counted it as one of our major markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Since late March, when GM announced its partnership with Ventec Life Systems to build critical-care ventilators, production at his company has \u201cgone kind of crazy,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n GM asked the company to step up its production of restrictors, a simple, small part.<\/p>\n \u201cThe phone rang one Friday evening at about 8 o\u2019clock,\u201d Lee recalls. His team’s first reaction? \u201c\u2019Tell us more.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n If you are not an FEUSA Member, JOIN now!<\/a><\/p>\n Upon hearing the details, the team sprang into action. \u201cBy Saturday we had about 13 people in the company working on checking the lead times, and when we could start delivering. And by Sunday we quoted for the beginning of shipping on Monday. And by Monday we were making parts and shipping against a promise of a purchase order, which came in Wednesday or Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, the medical side started blowing up with people calling us for crisis shipments.\u201d<\/p>\n Operational adjustments<\/strong> That\u2019s possible through a combination of \u201cpurposeful diversification\u201d and \u201cpure dumb luck,\u201d he explains. Social-distancing measures have been adopted to help protect plant workers against the coronavirus. \u201cAs a private company, because we take such a long-range view, we have a lot more square footage per person than if we were a typical public company,\u201d Lee says. \u201cSo we\u2019ve been able to push [work areas] out to the corners.\u201d<\/p>\n Typically, employees performing the same tasks would be working closely together, but \u201cwe\u2019ve got some over here and some over there,\u201d Lee explains. \u201cSo if someone gets sick in one of those areas, you don\u2019t suddenly lose everyone in the entire department.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, \u201cWe\u2019re shutting down the machines for about 20 minutes between shifts, and we\u2019re letting Shift 1 totally exit the building before Shift 2 is allowed in.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you come to work, you stay in your car until somebody comes out and gives a sign. We never did things like that before. We always had a handoff, Shift 1 to Shift 2.\u201d During a face-to-face handoff, Shift 1 supervisors would advise Shift 2 counterparts about machine glitches and the like. \u201cNow that\u2019s all getting done via computer and telephone.\u201d<\/p>\n Community support<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s a real good sense of camaraderie. I\u2019ve been doing a lot of [intranet] postings, keeping the communication up, and this week the posting is about how, whether you\u2019re working in that group [making ventilator parts] or not, it\u2019s all the same team. If it weren\u2019t for the people doing other stuff, they couldn\u2019t be doing that job.\u201d<\/p>\n To thank its 1,100 employees, the Lee Company has given them $50 gift certificates to local restaurants. \u201cIt supports the restaurants, it supports the employees,\u201d Lee says. \u201cIt\u2019s a win all the way around.\u201d Last week, employees received two $50 gift cards to local restaurants paid for by Lee family members.<\/p>\n Family Enterprise USA<\/a> is the organization that represents all family businesses on a national level in DC; it is not unique to any industry. FEUSA is different from other organizations because it represents and advocates for the families of family businesses and the issues, they face running their businesses every day. Our sole mission and purpose is to promote family businesses and their job growth in America. We also support the work of Family Business Centers across the country. We hope your family will choose to be a member of FEUSA. Family Enterprise USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Family foundations can donate.<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nOrdinarily, Lee\u2019s automotive unit runs three shifts. The GM-Ventec business is \u201cnot stretching us, capacity-wise.\u201d
\nThe medical side is a different story. To accommodate the extra work, the company had to transform medical operations from one shift to three, \u201cvirtually overnight,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe automotive market is terrible. The aerospace market\u2019s not very good. So we\u2019re moving people from those business units over to the medical side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMembers of the Lee Company\u2019s engineering department are using the company\u2019s 3D printers to make frames for face shields that are being assembled and donated to local hospitals through a local grass-roots initiative. \u201cThey all started doing it and then asked permission: \u2018By the way, do you mind that we\u2019re making these frames for the face shields?\u2019 I said, \u2018Absolutely, go for it,\u2019 \u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n
\nRead the full “Lee Company pivots to aid ventilator-making effort” article from familybusinessmagazine.com.<\/a><\/h4>\n
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