Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | April 13, 2020 | wbjournal.com F O C U S M A N U F A C T U R I N G Essential work e coronavirus impact on manufacturing has been limited, since many Central Mass. companies qualify as essential BY MONICA BUSCH Special to the Worcester Business Journal A s unemployment claims skyrocket and business owners around Massachusetts shutter their doors in the face of the coronavirus crisis, one sector of the economy remains as busy: essential manufacturing. Under an essential business emergency order announced by Gov. Charlie Baker on March 23 and modified on March 31, essential manufacturing includes a wide spectrum of workers, ranging from those who produce medical supplies to those who support the agricultural market, and everything in between. And, importantly, the order specifies essential manufacturers includes those who are part of the supply chain for other essential industries like transportation, energy and communications. But as the coronavirus pandemic wears on, with few concrete indicators signaling how long the crisis will last, manufacturers are struggling with, perhaps above all else, the ambiguities inherent to the situation, said Kathie Mahoney center director for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the industry educational organization based in Worcester. "It's just the uncertainty of how long is this going to go? What do I do if someone gets sick? How do I protect my employees?" Mahoney said. "It's all kinds of questions like that." As both the pandemic itself and the regulations put in place to help stop it change at a near breakneck pace, the ever-shiing landscape makes it difficult for groups like MassMEP to zoom out and assess the situation from a big- picture perspective, she said. At the moment, Mahoney said, MassMEP doesn't have data regarding how many manufacturers have temporarily closed, whether because they are non-essential or for other pandemic-related reasons. Roy Nascimento, president of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, echoed similar sentiments, noting that North County's 450 manufacturers make manufacturing the region's second-largest industry. But like Mahoney, he said it's unclear how many have had to shut their doors under either Baker's guidance or as a result of other coronavirus-related challenges. "is has been a disruption," Nascimento said. Staying safe and essential Both Mahoney and Nascimento report their respective organizations fielding questions from manufacturers regarding how to interpret the state's essential manufacturing definitions, and in some instances, Nascimento said, asking for advice about how to apply for a waiver to allow non-essential manufacturers to continue operating. But for at least some manufacturers, like Spencer- based FLEXcon, which is considered essential because many of its customers run essential businesses, and because the company produces pressure-sensitive film products used on, among other things, an array of medical equipment, operational questions have not so much focused on whether they are critical producers, but rather on how to keep staff safe during the coronavirus outbreak. "We broke into three different teams: a containment team, a communications team and a business continuity team," said Neil McDonough, CEO and chairman of FLEXcon Holdings. "And every morning there's a check in." While everyone who can work at home has been asked to do so, McDonough said FLEXcon has placed a significant emphasis on protecting the health of those employees required to Roy Nascimento, CEO, North Central Mass. Chamber of Commerce Neil McDonough, CEO and chairman of FLEXcon Holdings FLEXcon in Spencer has been deemed an essential manufacturer since its products include films for medical equipment. PHOTOS/WBJ FILE

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