Eric Scott Leathers Switches Gears To Provide Protective Gear During Coronavirus Crisis

At Eric Scott Leathers (ESL), innovative solutions are helping first responders and healthcare providers in the fight against COVID-19.
The Ste. Genevieve company  produces a wide range of high-quality custom products in leather, vinyl and fabric for industries ranging from motorcycle gear to corporate incentives and financial accessories. Known for innovative production solutions, ESL maintains in-house design capabilities complete with digital creation, product development, die and tool making capability, and an experienced production team. When they were approached by area medical staff and first responders about the dire need for personal protective equipment due to COVID-19, ESL’s leadership team embraced the challenge head-on.

Eric Scott Leathers set out to develop a solution to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic. By pivoting quickly, retooling and redesigning, Eric Scott was able to meet that need with an initial donation of more than 450 prototype face masks to Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital while they continued to refine production on the masks. Now, Eric Scott is providing large production volumes for sale to many customers and communities across the country. (Image, information from Sandra Cabot, Missouri Department of Economic Development)

Within 48 hours of examining samples of disposable masks and face shields, the Eric Scott product development team had completed an engineering analysis that included sourcing materials and developing patterns that would take best advantage of automated digital cutting tools for high volume production.
Responding to customer input and regulations, the new products would not be designed to replace N-95 or surgical masks but could be worn by non-COVID medical staff and other essential workers, thus saving much-needed N-95 inventory for those directly interfacing with COVID patients.
Building on capabilities gained from a 2014 purchase of the former National Vinyl Products equipment as well as imprinted fabric designs from their direct-to-consumer “SnapTotes” website, the Eric Scott team pivoted their design and production engineering resources to build prototypes, and soon delivered nearly 500 prototypes as a donation to the Friends Foundation for Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital, where they were met with great enthusiasm. Responding to many calls and requests from front line workers, Eric Scott quickly ramped up production capacity for the new designs.
“We went from a goal of producing 1,000 to 3,000 fabric masks to orders for over 7,000 masks in just the first 72 hours. Now we are shipping orders all over the country and even internationally,” said Dana Jacobson, executive vice president of Eric Scott.
The unique fabric face mask design features an inner moisture-wicking material, a removable HEPA filter, and an outer layer made from water repellent, dye-sublimated fabric. The disposable face shield prototypes included clear vinyl, comfort foam and wide band elastic. Both products will continue to be developed with input from front line healthcare and emergency service personnel, and Eric Scott has made the fabric face masks available on both Snaptotes.com and Etsy.
For more information on Eric Scott custom product solutions or bulk orders, see www.ericscott.com or send an e-mail to info@ericscott.com.
To purchase the Snaptotes fabric face masks online, go to the Snaptotes shop on Etsy or  purchase directly on the Snaptotes site https://www.snaptotes.com/.
(Information from Sandra Cabot, Missouri Department of Economic Development.)