As priorities continue to shift during the COVID-19 pandemic, essential businesses such as Xylem Bell & Gossett and its manufacturer’s representatives like Bornquist Inc. are responding to the changing times by supplying assistance on many fronts in communities throughout Illinois. Chicago-based Bornquist is lending support to the commercial building services sector by keeping critical HVAC and domestic water systems up and running in hospitals and other critical facilities, and delivering personal protective gear to health care workers.

“In these trying times, Xylem and Bell & Gossett reps have stepped up to the plate to help American cities, their facilities and, most importantly, their people,” said Susan O’Grady, director of marketing – Commercial Buildings Americas, Xylem.

Here are some of the many ways Bornquist in partnership with Bell & Gossett, along with their employees, are rising to the challenge to help Chicago and the surrounding communities during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Bornquist responded to COVID-19 pandemic conditions by donating face shields made by Xylem to area medical centers, including Hines VA hospital, James Lovell VA hospital and Loyola University Medical Center.
• Local utility partner Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago secured a Xylem Watermark Grant with the help of Bornquist for Opportunity Advancement Innovation in Workforce Development or OAI, Inc., a Chicago-based workforce development nonprofit. The grant to OAI is helping provide emergency aid to stabilize families amidst the COVID-19 crisis, benefiting approximately 200 individuals and families throughout the region.
• With the help of Aramark Food Service, which runs the café at Xylem’s Morton Grove, Illinois, facility, a group of Bell & Gossett employees provided and delivered 100 boxed lunches to the Adult Emergency Department and Pediatric Emergency Department at Lutheran General Hospital in nearby Park Ridge, Illinois.
• An employee at the Morton Grove facility teamed up with a few local restaurants to have individually wrapped lunches and dinners provided for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital’s ER, ICU and COVID-19 units.
• A continuous improvement specialist at Xylem’s Morton Grove facility, has been an active participant in the company’s COVID-19 Protective Mask Printing Initiative. He delivered 1,050 face shields to the PPE network on Chicago’s South Side, which has been impacted the most during this crisis. These shields have been distributed to Advocate Christ Medical Center and several nursing homes in the area.

“We want to support the health and safety of our community as best we can,” said David Everhart, president, Bornquist. “By partnering with Bell & Gossett and Xylem Watermark, we have been able to make a direct impact on the local response to COVID-19.”

As construction projects begin to pick up steam again in the Chicago area, Bornquist is engaging in several priority health care, municipal and school facility projects. Visit B&G Solves Buildings to learn more about how Bell & Gossett and its manufacturer’s reps are solving commercial building challenges in Chicago and across the United States.

To learn more about how Bell & Gossett and its reps are responding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago and across the United States, visit Xylem’s COVID-19 response page.

Listen to “The Bell & Gossett Podcast” on “Solving Water: A Xylem Podcast” via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and the Spotify app.

Connect with Bell & Gossett on social media: Facebook: @bellandgossett; Twitter: @BellGossett; YouTube: Bell & Gossett; LinkedIn: Bell & Gossett.

About Xylem

Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges with technological innovation. Our more than 16,000 diverse employees delivered revenue of $5.25 billion in 2019. We are creating a more sustainable world by enabling our customers to optimize water and resource management, and helping communities in more than 150 countries become water-secure. Join us at www.xylem.com.