PBN Manufacturing Awards 2021
Excellence at a Family-Owned Business: Eco Global Manufacturing LLC
Eco Global ManufacturinG LLC is a third-generation product design and manufacturing company in Providence that started out as an upholstery company. It has since expanded into everything from pillows to chew toys for dogs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eco Global pivoted swiftly into the production of face shields and isolation gowns, using new production techniques and even creating custom machinery. The face shields have removable parts that allow for longer life and permit users to sanitize the areas that come into contact with the skin.
Eco Global President James Stallman said the pandemic revealed that the U.S. was dependent on China for the manufacture of personal protective equipment. The U.S. government was looking to bring that industry back to the U.S. and support small business at the same time. Eco Global fit the bill.
Continuing production during a pandemic has not been easy. Stallman said safety measures include socially distanced workspaces, temperature checks, questionnaires on health and symptoms, readily available PPE for employees, and lots of Zoom calls.
Eco Global has always been a believer in keeping manufacturing in the United States, and particularly Rhode Island.
“Our roots are deep in Rhode Island,” Stallman said. “We’re eternally hopeful that we will develop a more business-friendly climate for manufacturing … it’s a challenging place to do business. Costs are very high – taxes, utilities. But there are so many resources here, and access to such good people. It’s a question of our figuring out a way to control costs and be competitive.”
Eco Global’s story began with Stallman’s grandfather, Jack Stallman, an immigrant from Austria who started the American Upholstery Co. in Providence after World War I. After World War II, James Stallman’s father, Milton Harris Stallman, began M.H. Stallman Co., an upholstery supply company.
Its expertise with foam products led to work with Hasbro Inc. on its Nerf line of toys, as well as more high-tech and medical applications. Now Eco Global Manufacturing’s capabilities run to a wide gamut of products, including packing and packaging, medical devices, sports equipment, gaskets and seals and shoe insoles.
Stallman said the company is shifting its business model from supplying other businesses with equipment and parts to making and marketing its own products.
One enterprise Eco Global has been involved with is called Imagination Playground, a series of blue foam blocks and shapes, conceived by noted architect David Rockwell, that can be used in different configurations for kids to play. At first, Eco Global just manufactured the blocks, but it eventually acquired Rockwell’s interest in the company.
With an expertise in foam, making pillows was a logical step for Eco Global. The foam is made from renewable resources, and the pillows were developed for Hope Lodges, the residential centers for cancer patients and families established by the American Cancer Society. The pillows are also sold to consumers.
Jason Riccardi, chief marketing officer for Eco Global, said the company is always looking to use its expertise to develop new ideas and products.
“We’re thinking about new products that make sense for us,” he said. “What can we do? What are we good at? Can we do this at a competitive price?”
Riccardi’s background is in the pet industry, and Eco Global makes a line of nylon chewable dog toys. A portion of the sales will go toward making women’s shelters pet friendly because research has found many women who need the shelters won’t leave their pets at home.
Social responsibility is a key value at Eco Global. The company has joined with similar corporations around the world to become a B-Corp., part of a group of more than 2,100 companies from 50 countries.
For Eco Global, being a B-Corp. means making environmentally friendly products in America. It’s also about providing jobs, training and workforce development to underserved local communities.
“We want to be here and do well in Rhode Island,” said Stallman when asked about the company’s long-term goals.
