Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 18, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Up Front Tolland's Gerber helps clients pivot production to much-needed pandemic protective gear By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com A mid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, con- sumers aren't shopping for clothing like they usually do, which has reduced order volumes for makers of garments and other textile products. Tolland-based Gerber Technology is helping those manufacturers make the best of a difficult economic situa- tion by providing them products and services to retool production lines so they can make in-demand personal protective equipment, or PPE. Gerber sells software, cutting ma- chinery and other technology that's used by clothing makers and manu- facturers that make furniture, airplane and car interiors and other products. "If you make high-end suits, there's not a big demand for that out there right now," said Leonard Marano, Gerber's vice president of product management and market- ing for automation solutions. "They have idle capacity." The U.S. has been heavily reliant on Asia for sourcing PPE, but with the virus originating there, it's cre- ated a shortage of masks, gowns and other protective gear. "It became evident early on that there would be a national shortage of PPE," Marano said. That's forced state governments and healthcare organizations to for- age for their own supplies. It's also pushed some U.S. facto- ries to retool their production lines to fill the sudden need. Not all of them can do it easily on their own, as PPE manufacturing is complicated, so Gerber has stepped in. Marano said the company has now helped more than 1,400 of its customers around the world — in- cluding a handful in Connecticut — switch over to PPE production. Much of that equipment is going to hospitals and other healthcare facilities, he said. In Connecticut, manufacturers that have switched over to PPE pro- duction with Gerber's help include Commercial Sewing, Franklin Prod- ucts and Torrington Distributors, all located in Torrington, Marano said. There's also Joseph Abboud's Boston-area factory, Rochester, N.Y.- based apparel maker Hickey Free- man and California clothing maker Bella Canvas, which is using Gerber equipment to produce millions of masks for first responders. Tapping its vast network of indus- try relationships, Gerber has also helped its customers source fabrics and other necessary materials. Customers are telling the com- pany that PPE will be a permanent part of their businesses moving forward, even once COVID-19 infec- tions are reduced to more manage- able levels, Marano said. Gerber, which already had about 300 customers involved in PPE in some form before the pandemic, is fol- lowing suit. Marano said the company now considers PPE to be a core market segment, to ensure the country is bet- ter prepared for the next pandemic. "If everybody had converted Continued on page 4 >> TOWN PROFILE: TOLLAND 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING | SHEET METAL | BUILDING AUTOMATION | FACILITIES SERVICES License #'s: E1-0125666 S1-302974 P1-203519 F1-10498 SM1-192 MC-1134 SUSTAINABLE FACILITIES COMPETITIVE. EFFICIENT. PRODUCTIVE. The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to provide sustainable, more efficient, greener facilities. Experts in: Energy Systems & Incentives, Building Automation Technologies, Sustainable Design & Operation NEMSI HBJ_QtrPg Ads_200117.indd 1 1/17/20 1:31 PM PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED An employee uses a Gerber Paragon cutter, which is increasingly being used to make face masks and other personal protective equipment.

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