Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 26, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Construction Loans Business Lines of Credit Real Estate Loans . You go all out for You go all out for your business... your business... Does your bank do the same for you? See what Go Beyond Banking™ truly means for your business. . 978-365-3401 | clintonsavings.com M A N U F A C T U R I N G E X C E L L E N C E A W A R D S F O C U S Product Design & Innovation Award United Stretch Design Corp. Location: Hudson Industry subsector: Textiles Founded: 1982 Top executive: President & Founder Manuel Chaves Primary product: Elastic bands Fun fact: During the peak need of the coronavirus pandemic, United Stretch Design increased its production 700%. A round this time last year, America's manufacturing industry was thrust into the fight against the deadli- est pandemic in a century, including a little-known Hudson maker of elastic products. United Stretch Design Corp., located in an unassuming warehouse in an industrial park off of Route 62, became one of those industrial heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic when the compa- ny produced millions of yards of elastic used on facemasks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. is even came as the company's core business – the automotive industry – ground to a halt last year. "ankfully, we were able to keep everybody employed," said Eric Chaves, operations manager and son of Presi- dent and Founder Manuel Chaves. "In fact, we were working Saturdays and Sundays around the clock." e elder Chaves, a Portuguese im- migrant who came to the U.S. in 1967, founded the company aer working for United Stretch Design filled a critical pandemic need BY ZACHARY COMEAU Special to the Worcester Business Journal textile manufacturing company omas Taylor & Sons in Hudson for 15 years. Chaves arrived in the U.S. on a Friday, and started working on a Monday. Aer learning the ins and outs of the manufacturing industry, Manuel started his own business using three machines to make elastic cord. Now, the company has around 1,500 machines and makes a variety of prod- ucts, ranging from flat elastic used in the pocket in back of car seats to braids used on military uniforms. e company also produces shoelaces, hockey skate laces, and zipper pulls. "Braided and textile products are ev- erywhere," he said. "It's usually a smaller component of something that you don't really ever pay much attention to." at would change dramatically in the late winter spring of 2020. e company had already been mak- ing the flat elastic bands for facemasks well before COVID, but it was never tru- ly a core business. On an average week, United Stretch Design would produce about 40,000 yards of the product. When COVID-19 hit, the company kicked it into high gear, and that num- ber grew nearly 700% to 300,000. "If we could have made 3 million yards, it wouldn't have kept up with the demand," Chaves said. e company kept a healthy rotation of workers to keep the machines run- ning, and even brought in some outside help to keep employees fresh. Large spools of the elastic bands went to local-area hospitals, community groups and churches – much of it donat- ed to people hand-making masks out of the kindness of their heart, Chaves said. "ere were a lot of those people," Chaves said. With the supply of masks caught up, the company has slowed its production of that elastic, but is still pumping out about 150,000 yards a week. at rush, however, helped the com- pany become more efficient. "We literally couldn't afford to have a machine down," so we had to be a cou- ple steps ahead of that, Chaves said. Chaves credits the company's ability to meet that critical need to his father, employees and a lot of hard work. "We worked overtime – a lot, a lot of overtime," Chaves said. W

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