Hatch Exhibits LLC, a Maryland-based custom fabrication company specializing in trade show booths, was forced to close its doors and furlough its two-dozen employees after half of its annual revenue disappeared because of event cancellations due to the coronavirus. "That was tough," said Chris McCormick, who co-owns the company along with his wife Tracy McCormick. "We worked so hard to get where we were and that went away." But the doors didn't stay closed for long. After hearing about the shortage of personal protective equipment for hospital workers, the McCormicks decided to refocus their production capabilities to create much needed PPE. "We realized the dire need for PPE and thought: What can we do to help? Let's put our equipment to good use and start prototyping," said Tracy McCormick, CEO of Hatch Exhibits. "It was the right thing to do, and we had no idea the response would be this massive." They brought some workers back and started developing prototypes based on designs they found online. Within days the company was fabricating face shields and medical gowns from the same materials and technology that was being used to make banners and graphic displays only weeks earlier.
In less than one week, Hatch Exhibits had fulfilled orders for tens of thousands of face shields with more orders coming in all the time from hospitals across the country. At about 10 dollars for each shield, the company is studiously avoiding any price gouging. "There's an ethical quality to what we're trying to achieve," Chris McCormick said. "If I win the lottery tomorrow, I'd give these away for free." The company is also working on acquiring new materials to make the production of gowns more cost efficient, essentially building new supply chains from scratch.

And even though the production of PPE doesn't replace the lost revenue from its trade show production, the owners are thrilled to have their workers back in the factory working in shifts around the clock to maximize the machinery. "Hope and purpose – that's what we've got," McCormick said. "We have something to do. We're not sitting here waiting for other people to act." The McCormicks are now raising funds to manufacture more PPE for nursing home workers, first responders, etc. To donate funds that will enable Hatch to manufacture and donate PPE to facilities in need, visit: www.gofundme.com/medical-professionals