FAIRFIELD—The current health-care crisis requires response, and Sacred Heart University alumnus Bing Carbone ’84 has stepped up to the challenge, epitomizing SHU’s mission to “make a difference in the global community,” personally and professionally.
Carbone recently wrote on Facebook that his company, Modern Plastics, was available to make products like face shields and intubation enclosures. He included his cell phone number in the posts.
What happened next was something Carbone never could have imagined. “My cell phone lit up,” he said. “And it hasn’t stopped.”
Health-care workers from all over the country have called Carbone, asking for supplies. “We don’t turn anyone away,” he said.
History
Carbone’s grandfather, Joseph C. Carbone, established Modern Plastics—initially Modern Glass Co.—in 1945 in Bridgeport. Bing Carbone helped out with the family business throughout his childhood and into his teens. Summer breaks, days off—he was there, doing everything from sweeping floors to processing orders.
Carbone majored in business administration and marketing at SHU and recalls his years there as a “phenomenal experience.” He came to SHU from Trumbull High School, where, he admits, his grades were less than extraordinary. However, he worked hard to excel at SHU and made the dean’s list every year—an especially impressive accomplishment, considering that after he was done with classes, he drove down Park Avenue to his family’s business. “Those four years were really about school and work,” he said.
In 1998, Carbone became president of Modern Plastics, now in Shelton.
Before the pandemic, Carbone and his team of 25 employees manufactured and distributed plastic sheets, rods, tubes and film, and they produced custom-design work. Modern Plastics also is known for products designed for the medical industry, manufacturing parts used for hip and knee replacements.
New normal
When Carbone first learned of a possible pandemic, he said, he was in disbelief, but soon he started thinking of ways to help. He knew medical professionals needed supplies because the stock of personal protective equipment (PPE) was diminishing and finding more was impossible. His company came up with a face shield prototype, and he turned to social media to let people know what his company could do. Each post was shared more than 200 times.
“The calls have not slowed down,” Carbone said, and he has listened to many emotional voicemails. “There are a lot of messages from doctors and nurses so desperate for materials. Many are thanking us, too.” He said the response has been humbling and overwhelming.
In light of the desperate need for PPE, Modern Plastics now has an infection control division that produces items specific to the pandemic, including face shields and protective plastic barriers for hospitals and grocery stores.
Advice remembered
When Carbone was at Sacred Heart, beloved business and marketing professor Laurence Weinstein passed along some worldly advice. “He told me, ‘Life is difficult, and once you understand that, you start to move forward,’” Carbone recalled.
“Life has gotten a lot more complicated,” he said. “This virus is affecting a lot of people in many ways, and we’re going to try to do what we can to help.”
Modern Plastics has donated supplies to the Shelton Police Department, and Carbone said he and his employees are doing their best to fulfill every order as quickly as possible, whether it’s 10 face shields or 100,000.
For more information, visit Modern Plastics at https://modernplastics.com/.
Photos courtesy of Modern Plastics. Pictured from left are hospital/healthcare plastic protection, alumnus Bing Carbone ’84 wears one of the face shields and an acrylic plastic physical contact barrier.
