Portage manufacturers making thousands of hospital beds to help with nationwide shortage
April 8, 2020
PORTAGE, Wis. — In anticipation of hospital bed shortages due to COVID-19, Oklahoma-based parent company Kruger Family Industries has announced that its two Portage-based manufacturers are teaming up to make thousands of emergency and disaster relief beds.
Vice President of Human Resources Todd Spencer said Penda is known for making truck bed liners and Trienda is known for making plastic palettes to serve the food and postal service industry.
“We were deemed non-essential. We wanted to find something to get our employees back to work as soon as possible,” Spencer said.
The collaboration efforts between all departments sped up the process to make this possible. Spencer said this process that would normally take anywhere from eight to 12 weeks, came together in three weeks.