PAWTUCKET – Daniel Dwight, CEO and president of the Cooley Group, says his company has joined forces with an unlikely partner, a competitor, to manufacture medical products to address the need for supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I saw a press release by our competitor announcing their foray into medical supplies, so I called up the CEO to ask how they were planning to go about it,” said Dwight. “Based on his amiable response, I imagined he agreed: this is a war with no competitors. Acting collaboratively with everyone allows us to accelerate services to the health care community. For example, if a New York hospital needs material, the competitor in Michigan would refer the hospital to us. Conversely, I would refer a Midwest hospital request to him. It’s inspiring.”
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PBN is asking local business owners and CEOs five questions in a survey designed to understand how the new coronavirus has affected them and their businesses and what they have learned from the unprecedented challenges. Here are Dwight’s responses:
1. How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis?
First and foremost, all of Cooley’s employees and their families are healthy and safe. We are fully operational in all our manufacturing facilities, and financially our March 2020 revenue was almost 8% ahead of March 2019. And April backlog is manageable as we continue to deliver essential products during this crisis, include liners and covers for food and agriculture production, harvesting and transportation; water, wastewater and chemical storage for the energy industry; and respiratory vests, hospital bedding and safety suites for the health care industry.
2. Have you found silver linings in these difficult times?
Cooley has expanded our medical and health care product offerings to service the desperate need for personal protective equipment. For example, we are collaborating with several customers to develop and mass produce medical grade gowns for hospital workers. We are getting guidance for making the gowns through a collaborative effort with one of our competitors.
3. How are you maintaining your company culture?
Our company culture is proving to be a real benefit. We have always made health and safety first and foremost; well before anyone heard of COVID-19. So, when the virus came and we had to enact even more stringent health and safety protocols, the factory workers and staff quickly dialed in. As part of our safety culture, we have actively encouraged our employees to hold each other accountable for each other’s safety. We are leveraging that empowerment today as fellow employees call out anyone not practicing proper hygiene or social distance.
4. Did your business-continuity plan work or were there surprises?
Cooley has not had to exercise its continuity plan. We were able to secure additional capital from a primary bank, Webster Bank, and a capital-equipment leasing line from Rockland Trust Co., to support our near-term financial needs, which in turn allows us to better support our customers’ and vendors’ needs during this challenging time. Because Cooley operates multiple extrusion lines in multiple facilities, our contingency plans are to shift production from one line to another line or from one plant to another.
5. Do you have advice for other local companies?
Look at and enact best practices from other manufacturing companies who are seeking the same thing as you – keeping employees and their families healthy and safe. Cooley is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization guidelines and sharing best practices with other companies through the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Leadership Council, our customers and other collaboration partners. We have also been in close contact with our Korean strategic partner, who is successfully managing through the pandemic in Asia.
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer and researcher. He can be reached at shuman@pbn.com.
