Courtesy/Flowfold
A Flowfold worker, wearing a protective face shield like the ones the company is making for health care workers, is also wearing gloves for protection.
Updated: March 26, 2020
Flowfold making face shields, American Roots 'racing to retool' in response to crisis
Courtesy / Flowfold
Flowfold, a niche manufacturer of travel and gear based in Gorham, is now making personal protective equipment for health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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As one niche Maine textile manufacturer ramps up production of personal protective equipment for health care workers, another is keen to do the same after being forced to lay off 80% of employees this week.
In less than two weeks, Gorham-based Flowfold switched from making outdoor and lifestyle bags, packs and accessories to producing protective face shields for hospitals and health facilities in need.
Wednesday marked the first shipment, of 1,000 face shields, to Portland-based MaineHealth, northern New England's largest health system and Maine's largest private employer.
Meanwhile in Westbrook, apparel and blanket maker American Roots is also looking to see what kind of personal protective equipment it can make to help in the crisis — and get employees back to work.
"We're racing against the clock to retool our factory, so that we can help the state of Maine and the broader community, and the country," said Ben Waxman, who founded American Roots in 2015 with his wife, Whitney Reynolds.
Operating out of the Dana Warp Mill building, they currently employ a "bare minimum" of four sewers but hope to get busy again soon as they explore options for making needed protective equipment.
Flowfold's quick pivot
At Flowfold's factory in Gorham, a team of eight — wearing gloves and other protection — are making face shields for health care workers on the front lines of the crisis.
The startup made a quick pivot, with about eight days between its first email to MaineHealth to the first production run.
"That email was basically, 'We're going to have some capacity here to help, what do you need right now?" James Morin, Flowfold's chief operating officer and president of sales, told Mainebiz on Wednesday.
"They came back with a catalog link, and said, 'We need everything,'" Morin said.
Though Flowfold didn't have the capacity to make everything — not in a meaningful way, and not fast enough — it determined it could make face shields that look similar to masks worn by welders and got to work on the first 1,000.
Taking all recommended precautions, workers don gloves and other protection while standing 6 feet apart in the ground-floor factory, while Morin works remotely and is the runner for any emergency supplies.
"I'm at a very high risk of contaminating the office, so I'm not there," he said.
The company, founded in 2010 by University of Maine classmates Charles Friedman and Devin McNeill, expects to stay busy with another 3,000 units on order for other customers — Northern Light Health, Maine's second-largest health care system, and two groups in Texas.
With interest coming in New York, Illinois, and other places around the country, Morin said the company is exploring how to ramp up manufacturing.
He said that could include multiple shifts or even new hires but doesn't anticipate having to partner with other manufacturers or come up with other solutions to meet demand.
"The important thing to tell hospital providers is that this is a Day 10 of a brand new business that we can't afford to make any mistakes on," Morin said. "We're learning as we go."
In large part, he said, Flowfold was able to pivot so quickly thanks to an automated cutting machine funded in part by the Maine Technology Institute.
"Without that cutting machine," he said, "we could not be doing what we're doing right now ... We wrote that grant application saying it will make us more agile, a more flexible high-tech manufacturing plant, and they supported us. Now we're starting to reap those rewards."
MTI President Brian Whitney was equally enthusiastic, calling Flowfold "a great example of a success story borne out of Maine's innovation success story." He also underscored that MTI remains open for business (remotely) and is accepting applications for innovations while helping companies already in its portfolio get through these challenging times.
File Photo / Jim Neuger
Whitney Reynolds and Ben Waxman, co-owners of American Roots, at the company's Westbrook facility last year.
As for Flowfold's original business, Morin said they're getting some orders but 99.5% of the focus is on the face shields.
"I think and hope, trust and pray that our customers will understand that and support us when we've turned the corner," he said. "We have to do what we think right now is in the best interest of our communities."
As Flowfold steps up, longtime mentor Nancy Strojny, head of the SCORE Portland, is bursting with pride.
"In times of turmoil, exploring alternative paths to move forward, or pivot, require perseverance and a flexible mindset," she said. "It is the power of what's possible."
Flowfold is encouraging other local manufacturers to help where they can, offering to support any companies who might also be able to allocate resources. Those with an interest can get in touch online.
Push forward 'no matter what'
Back at American Roots, Ben Waxman fears for all the small businesses he expects will be decimated by the crisis but hopeful of his company's ability to weather through it and be part of the solution by making whatever is needed, whether it's masks, hospital gowns or johnnies.
"This is the worst thing I've ever gone through," he said, "but I also believe that there's more resolve in this company than there has ever been. We're going to push forward no matter what."
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Anonymous
March 26, 2020
This is a fine example of Maine ingenuity - and the willingness of Maine people and companies to step up when needed. Hopefully, more businesses will follow suit. I can't help but think that New Balance could offer help with cloth masks amid their stitching capabilities and others like Mid-Maine Machine's talented staff and leadership perhaps re-tool to help with the ventilator crisis. We have many talented leaders in Maine - let's lead the way!
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