Pittsburgh Mattress Factory plans to make 1,000 masks for emergency services workers by the end of the month.
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When COVID-19 hit, LuAnn Schecht, owner of Pittsburgh Mattress Factory in Ellenton, knew she had to find a way to keep her two manufacturing employees working.
She also knew she wanted to find a way to give back to the local emergency services workers that she’s built relationships with with over the years.
“I wanted to be able to keep my employees paid. They have families,” she said. “And the emergency services in my area have been very good. I make mattresses for EMTs and firehouses.”
That’s how the 50-year-old mattress making company got started making protective masks for emergency services workers and whoever else needs them over the past few weeks. The company dropped off its first batch of 50 masks last Thursday with Southern Manatee Fire & Rescue and plans to make 1,000 by the end of April.
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Transitioning the Ellenton facility’s production from mattress making to mask production wasn’t easy, Schecht said. It was a two-week period of trial and error. They had to get a prototype approved and put out a call for supplies — their huge manufacturing equipment isn’t exactly well-suited to making something small enough to cover someone’s mouth.
But Schecht said she put out a call for materials like fabric and pipe cleaners on her Facebook page, and was overwhelmed by the response. The company even received two extra donated sewing machines, she said.
“Now we’re flowing — we still have an assembly line,” she said.
They’re still accepting donations of soft cotton, pipe cleaners and spools of thread in every color.
Despite the unpredictability of the economy following the COVID-19 outbreak, Schecht said that there’s still demand for mattresses. She made one for a trucker who has to sleep in his truck while he makes deliveries, and another one, an adjustable bed, for a woman who recently came out of the hospital.
Usually around this time of year, Pittsburgh Mattress Factory makes mattresses for RVs and boats, but that’s basically all dropped off since travel has completely ceased.
“But, people need mattresses,” she said.
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April 15, 2020 at 02:08AM
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