Bremen company making PPE for first responders
BREMEN, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A manufacturer in the Marshall County town of Bremen is aiding in the production of certain personal protection equipment. Nishikawa Cooper LLC (NISCO) has adapted its facility to produce and distribute polyethylene isolation gowns for first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NISCO is a supplier of dynamic sealing systems for the automotive industry. The company uses multi-function laser cutters, commonly used for the garment industry, as part of its process of manufacturing vehicle door sound dampening products.
The cutters have been transitioned to making the gowns for first responders. The Marshall County Economic Development Corp. says the company has already produced enough new gowns to distribute to every fire department in the county.
“This is tremendous,” Scott Ford, associate vice president for economic development at the University of Notre Dame, said in a news release. “The example offers a ray of hope in these trying times. NISCO’s leadership provides a ‘proof-of-concept’ that will be so helpful in recruiting additional manufacturers to consider a similar path.”
The MCEDC says it took NISCO less than a week to design the gowns and begin production. The company continues to distribute gowns to first responders daily.
You can learn more about the effort in the video below: