“We deeply appreciate the efforts of Transonic’s staff. Although we know that New York State has been in a serious situation due to COVID-19 and most of the companies have been closed, you are working hard. In addition to manufacturing, we know that production cannot be working without back-office, QA, R&D, and sales departments, and thanks to those departments. Because we can receive good products in short delivery time, we can make our products and help our customers save patients.” 

So began an email from a more than satisfied Transonic customer, who despite the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus, received their product in record time. This didn’t happen without the flexibility and creativity of Transonic administration and employees who, as soon as the pandemic struck in March, implemented the safety precautions necessary to continue as an essential medical product manufacturing facility. The work force was divided into two shifts, 7 am to 3 pm and 3 pm to midnight; those in the most vulnerable group were mandated and enabled to work from home; reusable masks were provided to all employees, social distancing was implemented and personal benefit time extended. The result was that Transonic was able to continue to fill product orders to satisfy their customers’ needs.

From the onset of the pandemic, the first and number one priority of Transonic management, headed by Transonic founder Cor Drost, was the health, safety and welfare of every Transonic employee and their families. This was reiterated in every email. Fortunately, Transonic is located in the beautiful rural Finger Lakes region of New York State, known for its colleges and universities (the closest being Cornell, just a few miles away) and vineyards. Four hours distant from the New York city metropolitan area, the coronavirus, while present, has not exacted a great toil, to date. 

Now, under the sage, science-driven and transparent leadership of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, this region is slated to partially reopen on May 15th as part of a detailed phrased reopening process. In response, Transonic management met to re-assess Transonic’s returning to a single shift schedule while ensuring that everyone stays safe. Building air handling was assessed and found it to be excellent; dividers are being added between work stations; reminder signage is being augmented; and new cafeteria schedules are being implemented to adhere to social distancing guidelines, to name a few of the additional safety precautions. With these measures in place, Transonic will return to a single shift on Monday May 18th in order to continue to serve its customers with the products they trust to “make meaningful measurements.”