Georgia’s Road to Pandemic Recovery Smoothed by Georgia-Made Products
“We saw a need, it was urgent, and we knew we could help,” says Jason Womack, founder and president of Commercial Stainless Fabricators (CSF) in Marietta, Georgia, which makes air purifiers. That’s the sentiment echoed by many companies in the state that have started, pivoted, or stepped up production to combat the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining or even increasing operations and employment. Thanks to their efforts, the state and its people are well-positioned to resume the lives they knew before the pandemic.
CSF along with Luosh USA, a startup making hypoallergenic face masks, and 200-year-old Morito Scovill Americas, which produces fasteners for personal protective equipment (PPE), are part of this robust group of Georgia manufacturers, which includes global giants like Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, YKK, and GE/Roper. They are just a few of the nearly 360 companies on Georgia’s Suppliers Interactive Map and List who have joined the fight against COVID-19 by providing critical supplies to front line workers and businesses. The list and map connect PPE providers and customers.
They are also manufacturers that have won the state’s official “Georgia Made” certification. Georgia Made™ is a program through the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) that provides support in the logistics, manufacturing, and marketing of Georgia products.
Georgia was among the first states to identify and publicize manufacturers and suppliers of PPE to fight COVID-19. The Supplier List, assembled by GDEcD’s Centers of Innovation division, is utilized by emergency operations, hospitals and healthcare facilities, school systems, businesses, and individuals.
When its traditional sales to food service industries dried up in the pandemic’s early days, CSF pivoted by innovatively repurposing materials to produce a powerful new tool to combat COVID-19: a portable, compact air purifier, 99.9% effective against airborne viruses. Marketed by CSF’s sister company, Foodservice Sustainability Solutions (FSS), to hospitals, schools, hotels, and restaurants, the AirGenie™ sanitizer employs UV-C technology to exchange air up to six times an hour, 50% more than the minimum amount implied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The early months of the pandemic were scary, but we had the workforce and engineering to pivot to something people needed right away, so we were able to bring back most of our furloughed workers,” says Kim Eger, senior vice president of FSS and CSF. “There’s a greater awareness of indoor air quality, and we’re ramping up to meet the demand.”
CSF also designed and began making hands-free door handles called Safer2Pull™, which allow people to enter rooms without touching a door. Those and its sneeze guards, which FSS now markets as desk shields, table spacers, and courthouse protection, are utilized by, among others, world famous chef José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup restaurants.
“These products are right in line with our historic focus on hygiene and sustainability. Our employees are proud they can contribute to the fight against COVID-19,” says Eger.
While CSF created new products, Morito Scovill Americas’ facility in Georgia accelerated the manufacture of products it was already making – namely, stainless steel fasteners for medical gowns.
“Twenty percent of our business is for the medical industry already, and the largest percentage of that is for PPE,” states Shane McEntyre, chief sales officer. “The Clarkesville factory now produces 40% more of those items. Also, we’re distributing a new line of plastic snap products for face shields as well as face masks.”
Morito Scovill was founded in 1802 to make brass buttons and has been making fasteners ever since. Now part of a Japanese conglomerate, the Clarkesville facility, while small, operates globally. McEntyre says because the state deemed the company an essential manufacturer, it was able to bring back furloughed workers and continue to hire so it could meet increased production demands.
“We appreciate the important work medical workers are doing and are contacting other manufacturers to understand how we might be able to help them,” he says. “Our workers recognize that what they do is life-saving, and we haven’t missed a day of production.”
On the entrepreneurial end of Georgia’s business spectrum is Marietta startup Luosh USA. Founded in April 2020, Luosh designs and manufactures hypoallergenic face masks.
“We wanted to donate high-quality, disposable face masks made in the USA to local healthcare professionals and couldn’t find them anywhere, so we decided to make our own,” says Jeremy Briggs, who founded the company with wife Melody. “We started production in July with just the two of us, and to meet the demand we’ve grown to 10 workers and four production lines.”
Luosh sources materials from U.S. suppliers for its 3-ply disposable masks, which exceed minimum standards for ASTM level 3, the most effective barrier to fluid exposure. The company plans a fifth production line for N95 masks once it receives FDA approval.
All three companies cite support by the state of Georgia as key to their efforts.
“The Department of Economic Development has been phenomenal in helping us with resources. And being part of the Georgia Made program reinforces our American-made brand,” states Briggs. “Georgia is very accommodating to manufacturing. The workforce is topnotch and it’s easy to ship around the country.”
Morito Scovill’s McEntyre echoes Briggs.
“Georgia’s location in the center of the Eastern Seaboard means moving our products is easy. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is second to none, and we also use the Georgia ports,” he says.
Morito Scovill recruits from the local technical colleges as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“We find the people we need,” says McEntyre. “We’re very community-oriented, and we have a lot of long-time employees. We believe the Georgia Made program contributes to our employees’ sense of pride in the product and helps us in the recruiting process.”
Kim Eger at Commercial Stainless Fabricators cites tax and regulatory advantages for Georgia manufacturers, and says the state’s Department of Education connected CSF with school systems as potential customers.
“Georgia also has a solid workforce and infrastructure,” he states. “We hire half of our engineers from inside the state. Having the state’s technical college system here is also beneficial.”
Like Briggs, Eger believes the Georgia Made program will give his products a “strong advantage” in reinforcing its brand and states that the program should especially resonate with companies who do business locally and have stewardship goals to source products with lower carbon footprints due to close proximity.
“Doing business with Georgia companies leads to connections outside the state,” he says. “The more companies we have in Georgia, the more expertise we have. It’s like the CDC in healthcare, but for business: the expertise within creates a brain trust that filters throughout the system.”
In the second half of 2020, Georgia companies invested $6 billion and created 16,000 jobs throughout the state, representing a 40% increase in new jobs and 47% increase in new investments over the same period during July through December 2019. Over half the jobs were outside metro Atlanta. Foreign direct investment increased 46% from the first to second half of the year.
Consistently ranked the “#1 State for Business,” Georgia’s skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure, low taxes, high state credit ratings, and development resources are here to help you start and grow your business. To encourage production of PPE, Georgia has also instituted a special tax credit for companies that pivoted during the pandemic as well as for those already creating PPE, to ensure the state is prepared to handle the need for PPE now and in the future.
Visit Georgia Made™ to take the next step in expanding your success.