Global supply chains were designed for cost and efficiency, not resilience – which became evident when COVID created shortages of everything from toilet paper to life-saving PPE. A global pandemic, while unprecedented, isn’t the only threat manufacturers face. Natural disasters, trade disputes and cyberattacks all have the potential to disrupt global supply chains. Not only must manufacturers be prepared to withstand these events; in many cases, they also must be ready to step up and help.
Sara Greenstein, President & CEO of Lydall, Inc., understands this better than most. Sara joined Lydall in November 2019, months before COVID upended the world. When PPE became one of the most highly-sought-after products, Lydall – one of the only manufacturers of fine fiber meltblown filtration media, used in N95 and surgical masks – sprang into action. Building on Lydall’s core competencies and longstanding technical expertise, Sara transformed Lydall from a company that had lost its way to a major player in the pandemic response. Drawing on its deep materials sciences and applications engineering expertise, Lydall has more than tripled its meltblown production capacity to meet the sharp increase in demand today, as well as the anticipated long-term demand for high-efficiency filtration solutions.
In this session, Sara will share how challenging situations can uncover hidden strengths and how manufacturers can leverage those strengths to be responsive and agile in the face of a crisis. She will also discuss how manufacturers can identify and improve areas of weakness before a crisis hits. Finally, she will examine the long-lasting impact COVID-19 will have on global supply chains, particularly for critical products.