Inside Outdoor Spring 2020 Issue

13 Inside Outdoor | SPRING 2020 Within days of the state of Michigan issuing a stay-at-home order on March 23, Chaco quickly moved to retrofit its Michigan-based ReChaco factory and mobile factory bus from sandal repairs and product customization to the production of face masks and other critical protective equipment needed by healthcare workers and other first responders. Chaco rushed to source patterns from local healthcare systems and collected raw materials from par- ent company Wolverine Worldwide, while the ReChaco factory was already equipped with industrial sewing ma- chines, ample backstock of materials and a production team with decades of professional sewing expertise. At about the same time, a similar scenario was unfolding at Outdoor Re- search’s onshore manufacturing facility in Seattle. By the end of March, Outdoor Research was able to quickly convert to becoming an FDA-approved Class II medical mask maker. This commitment included adding additional manufactur- ing capability within the Seattle plant as well as installing advanced medical man- ufacturing lines. When all is said and done, production is expected to ramp up to more than 200,000 masks per day, including ASTM level 3 surgical masks and N95 respirator masks. “Our 39-year history of rapidly de- veloping cutting-edge outdoor, military and tactical products provides Outdoor Research the ability to quickly shift to supporting the personal protective needs of the medical community,” said CEO Dan Nordstrom. It took less than a week for Super- feet employee-owners to mobilize their product development and operations departments and pivot from insole pro- duction to making life-saving PPE us- ing its Ferndale, Wash.-based 3D print- ing and manufacturing facilities. Su- perfeet quickly teamed up with sister company Flowbuild Manufacturing and another Washington-based company, Pioneer Aerofab, a business focused on manufacturing airplane interiors that supplied the mask’s hood portion, to eventually produce approximately 30,000 PPEs distributed to hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. “You can feel the pride our team of employee-owners takes in being able to create something tangible to help combat this pandemic and better protect our community’s first line of defense,” said John Rauvola, CEO and president at Superfeet. When production started on March 31, at Cascade Designs’ onshore op- erations in Seattle, the sewing team was able to make more than 1,000 masks per day. Once up to full produc- tion, Cascade Designs expected to manufacture up to 20,000 a day. And the company’s existing team of expe- rienced sewers was able to apply its expertise to cranking out ASTM Level 1 medical masks. Among the earliest of brands to an- swer the call was 100-year-old manu- facturer Vermont Glove. As lockdowns initially were being discussed, organi- zations and private companies started reaching out to the glove maker asking if they could make masks. “They were relieved to hear that we were already heading that way,” said Sam Hooper, Vermont Glove owner. “With our network of 15 home sew- ers, our eight staff and our facility in Randolph, we can crank these things out pretty darn quick,” said Hooper. In addition to filling a major need, he continued, “we see this as an op- portunity to keep our team working and employed during this challenging time as well as a chance to provide supplemental income to our local network of sewers.” In many cases, local builders were able to pull their resources, exhibiting the sense of a “community of builders” that is flourishing in cities and towns across the country. An effort pulled together by Ashe- ville, N.C.-based Outdoor Gear Builders (OGB), a nonprofit business association made up of Western North Carolina- based outdoor industry companies, started when OGB member and pre- mium cycling apparel manufacturer Kitsbow was bombarded by requests for its Face Shield, designed for first responders and medical providers. In just 48 hours, Kitsbow switched over all production to making face masks and shields. Demand for the Face Shield quickly jumped from less than 25,000 to more than 100,000 units per week. Made in Americas Therm-a-Rests must wait; sewer at Cascade Designs in Seattle Heidi Haupt, operations manager at Vermont Glove, now a master mask maker Bike manufacturer Yeti Cycles shifted manufacturing in its Golden, Colo., facility to building 10,000 face shields. Outdoor brands Smith’s and Black Diamond provided goggle strap material and headlamp straps.

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