Small businesses are taking a hit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have had to close and lay off employees Tom Monroe is the founder of a small start-up company in Flagstaff called Armored Outdoor Gear in Flagstaff, part of the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship (NACET). Monroe manufactures critter-proof storage bags for camping and other adventures. He was on the verge of laying off his staff in March when an unexpected – and unfortunate - business enterprise presented itself: the need for face masks for essential workers. Monroe quickly flipped his business model, ordered heavy-duty sewing materials and kept his staff on the payroll, even hiring new employees He spoke with KNAU’s Gillian Ferris about staying afloat in the time of COVID-19.
GF: A month ago, the news was close up shop, stay inside, nobody knows what’s going to happen here. Would you have believed that four weeks later you would still be in business filling a tremendous need in the community?
TM: No. I never could have imagined this, that myself and my employees and hiring people to make face masks. I’m still shocked over it.
GF: Tom, what did your business look like before the COVID-19 outbreak? What did you specialize in?
TM: Making stainless steel mesh bags for food protection, especially in the Grand Canyon, Havasupai, anywhere where there’s designated campgrounds where animals congregate because they know there’s going to be food there.
GF: Tell me about your shop. How many employees? Do you have a room full of sewing machines? What does it look like?
TM: We have three Walking Foot sewing machines going and a couple of Sergers going. Right now, I have eight employees.
GF: So, you’ve been able to flip your business and stay in business.
TM: I was at the point of almost having to start laying people off. That’s one of the main reasons we went into the mask production. We’ve supplied them to local search and rescue, we made some masks for Haven Health, and we also have a large contract right now with APS making masks for them.
GF: What kind of material do you use?
TM: The main material we’re using right now is the Halyard H600 and H500. That’s the material that the University of Florida Medical Center discovered can be used for these masks. It’s a sterilization wrap that they use when they sterilize their instruments. And a lot of that stuff was just getting thrown out, and someone figured out, ‘hey, maybe this stuff can be used.” And they started running tests and determined that it had a really good efficiency rating.
A couple of my main sewers, Lily and Becky, worked on the design with me. It’s triple-pleated with elastic that goes over the ears and ties around the back. So, I think you get a pretty good fit with it. It also has a nose clip, so you get a pretty good seal.
GF: Do you get the sense from your orders of just how severe this outbreak is and the conditions that our healthcare workers in the community are working under?
TM: It’s pretty crazy, you know. I’ve had about a four week education on making masks and just who needs them. I know more from the business I’ve turned down because I know I can’t handle it than what I’m actually doing. I mean, the companies that have tried to get me to make 30, 40, 50,000 masks and I’ve got to turn them down…that shows me the seriousness of it.