Another remarkable story of the manufacturing community of Michigan’s Great Southwest turning on a dime to retool in favor of battling the pandemic.
When the State of Michigan knocked, Barber Packaging of Bangor answered. The company switched gears from custom packaging to filling the need for local healthcare providers by producing personal protection plastic masks, and was quickly matched with a purchaser through the Pure Michigan Business Connect program of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Nick Anderson, Senior Program Specialist at Pure Michigan Business Connect, tells us, “Pure Michigan Business Connect’s virtual matchmaking program builds on PMBC’s success in providing supply chain sourcing solutions by supporting critical COVID-19 response efforts, as well as creating opportunities for small and medium-sized Michigan businesses.” He goes on to say, “We were pleased to work with our partners at Market Van Buren to provide a connection for Barber Packaging, and we thank the company for stepping up to retool and support recovery efforts in this time of need.”
In response to COVID-19, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Pure Michigan Business Connect program expanded its free, online procurement platform in March to include donations from suppliers capable of filling health and human service needs across a broad range of product and service categories. The platform provides direct access to businesses within the state providing supplies including personal protection equipment, food, medical devices, paper products, cleaning equipment and more.
Luke Barber, President of Barber Packaging and Vice Chairman of the Market Van Buren Board, says, “When this pandemic reached our nation, we felt called to stand in the gap. We immediately began looking at several medical industry needs and realized we could retool to make face shields.” He adds with pride, “Now we are producing a needed product. I’d like to think we are doing our part to serve our neighbors.”
Barber Packaging will make more than one million face shields over the next month. The project began in earnest on April 13th and has now fully ramped up production.
Zach Morris, Executive Director of Market Van Buren, says, “As soon as the pandemic reached our shores, Luke and his team wanted to be a part of the solution,” and notes, “Barber’s strong leadership paired with the ingenuity of the Pure Michigan Business Connect program is resulting in healthcare workers getting the tools they need.”
Other Van Buren County based businesses are retooling to provide necessary resources for the community. One example of that is St Julian Winery, Michigan’s largest winery, retooled their distillery to produce hand sanitizer. In addition, Do-It Corporation in South Haven has retooled to provide face shields.
Morris said Market Van Buren has been helping local businesses fill out applications for MEDC grants and loans, among several other resources. In addition, he says that they are working on plans to help companies once the emergency orders are over.
To watch a video about how Barber Packaging has retooled to fill this need, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=AcahyQzDy_Y&feature=emb_title
Market Van Buren, a subsidiary of Benton Harbor-based Kinexus Group, is an economic development organization dedicated to the advancement of economic growth in Van Buren County. The organization was formed to bring the public and private sectors together to advance the economic interests of Van Buren county. For more information, you can “like” Market Van Buren on Facebook or visit online at www.MarketVanBuren.org.
