Inside Outdoor Spring 2020 Issue

14 Inside Outdoor | SPRING 2020 Kitsbow reached out to bike wheelset and component manufac- turer Industry Nine, which was able to develop a better method for manu- facturing the Face Shield, sourcing the raw materials and helping with production. By working together alongside OGB member brands Wa- tershed and Oowee, which assisted with cutting, the companies were able to produce 10,000 face shields per day. The ultimate goal was to make and ship 1,000,000 a month. “Clint (Industry Nine’s founder Clint Spiegel) simply came over first thing Monday morning and started helping,” said David Billstrom, CEO at Kitsbow, at the time, “no paper- work, no proposals, just getting together and developing a better solution by tweaking the design and enabling us to work together to manufacture more of them in a shorter period of time.” Another OGB member, trailer brand Sylvan Sport, also switched over its manufacturing to produce thousands of face shields and was able to tap into its international supply chain to source hundreds of thousands of N95 masks and thou- sands of Tyvek suits. “The Outdoor Gear Builders has always been about collaborating and supporting each other and our com- munity,” said Matt Godfrey, board chair of the Outdoor Gear Builders. “We’re hoping this outpouring of sup- port for our healthcare system will allow us to protect those working on the frontlines of this pandemic.” In Utah, Goal Zero, Petzl and Eastman Machine Company joined up with DPS Skis at its Salt Lake City factory to manufacture medical- grade reusable polycarbonate face shields for the Utah Department of Health. With a 15-year history of rapid prototype-to-production manu- facturing, DPS found itself in the unique situation to convert a major portion of operations, said Alex Ade- ma, DPS president and CEO. Vermont-based outdoor retailer Orvis, for its part, collaborated with local furniture manufacturer Chervan to cut patterns, which Orvis used to stitch together face masks, produc- ing 2,000 a week, while Made in USA companies Duluth Pack and Stormy Kromer partnered up to make hospi- tal and healthcare gowns. Although this list is far from all who made more than an effort to help, it’s enough to illustrate the can-do spirit of the locally made movement, as well as the instinct to roll-up one’s sleeves in the face of adversity. It’s also puts light on a movement in which support for the community is almost inherent to the business model. m Making Connections in a Crisis As U.S. manufacturers pivoted to address shortages of PPE and other necessary products, they faced a slew of obstacles in locating the correct materials, navigating regulatory information and directing connections to essential providers. A group of North Carolina outdoor brands and organizations, some with first-hand experience of the challenges, stepped up to provide critical information and connections via a new nationwide online platform they dubbed SupplyConnector.org. Existing relationships in the North Carolina outdoors industry led to rapid development of a website via a 100% volunteer effort from business management firm Good Talk and web design agency Status Forward, with support from the NC Office of Outdoor Recreation, Growing Outdoors Partnership, North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Coalition and Outdoor Gear Builders. The first phase of the website allowed any company to list its needs or abilities to supply a need. Manufacturers can search for materials, design validation, labor or finished goods or list their ability to provide any of them; essential providers list needs for finished goods or ability to validate design. Plans are to add filter/ search functions and pages on region-specific needs throughout the country. “Like any good trail system, connectors help you navigate the landscape more quickly,” said Sarah Wood, founder of Good Talk, and board chair of the N.C. Outdoor Recreation Coalition. “With COVID-19, we don’t have time for the long way around.” Pitching in on protective gear at N.C.-based Sylvan Sport North Carolina manufacturers pivot to producing face shields Made in Americas