washington business
“The supply chain is very fractured and
it’s very clear to see when you’re in the
store. We need more items to be produced
here in the United States. The
supply chain appears to be fractured
and unable to fulfill all the needs that
are out there in these critical supplies.”
- AWB Government Affairs Director Tommy Gantz
“Typically, at Fluke creating a new product takes years, not weeks,” said
Madison Tiberio, an operations engineering project manager. “We wanted to
make it faster.”
Their procurement team secured a pipeline of raw materials. Fluke had
a specialty tool made in China and pulled strings to have it airlifted to the
United States, then had an employee drive it up in a van from Los Angeles to
Everett to get it going as quickly as possible. Soon, Fluke was producing 10,000
units a week, with an eye to improving the process and increasing production
further.
Seattle-based Glowforge, which sells American-made 3-D printers, created a
design for “Ear Savers,” a small piece of acrylic that protects the ears of doctors and
others wearing masks all day. The company encouraged its customers to produce
them in their homes.
“We sent out an email to our customers, and within seconds, people
volunteered to help. Seconds,” said Glowforge CEO Dan Shapiro. “And they
delivered. That commitment didn’t let up.”
The company and its customers had made 1.5 million Ear Savers by the end
of June and had expanded its initial goal of 1 million up to 10 million, all to be
given away to those on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus.
the world war ii spirit
As March turned to April, Gov. Jay Inslee held a press conference to thank “the
manufacturers who are springing to the task of manufacturing in our state the
crucial supplies we need in this war against this virus.”
The governor compared the work of manufacturers during the pandemic
to the actions taken during World War II, when Washington’s manufacturers
built bomber planes, minesweepers and other much-needed wartime material.
And he asked manufacturers to expand that creative work.
“Manufacturers have heard your call, governor, and they are stepping up to
show critical leadership in this important time,” AWB President Kris Johnson
said during that press conference. “They are all eager and willing to play a
leadership role right now. Washington manufacturers, as the governor has
talked about, have been the backbone of our economy. In good times, they fuel
our prosperity, and in challenging times like this, they lift us up to find the
much-needed solutions for our community and our state.”
Also joining the virtual press conference was Dan Nordstrom, CEO
emeritus of Seattle-based Outdoor Research, which had already turned an old
warehouse floor at their SoDo factory into a new production line for surgical
and N95 masks.
22 association of washington business