SUGARCREEK, Ohio — This content is part of our 88 Counties in 88 Days coverage, which focuses on the current issues Ohioans are facing during the pandemic.
At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, personal protective equipment was hard to come by. N95 masks were sold out, leaving medical professionals asking for more.
Seeing a need, the Holmes County community stepped in to help. A collaboration between manufacturing businesses and the local Amish community has helped provide masks and other personal protective equipment to first responders across Ohio and beyond.
One of the businesses that helped facilitate the shift was Superb Industries in Sugarcreek. John Miller, CEO of Superb industries, said he wanted to, “leverage the sewing talent that is in our community.”
“We organized Amish seamstresses and started sewing masks for the Cleveland Clinic,” Miller said. “And over three months, ultimately we had over 1,200 people sewing for us and we had several million masks and gowns for the state of Ohio, for the Cleveland Clinic and I think we ship to 18 states.”
Another industry that helped the effort was Keim Lumber. Their CEO Jim Smucker said the initiative’s success has to do with the collaborative nature of their community, calling Holmes County a, “can-do place; an adaptive place; a resilient place.”
Miller agrees. He thinks this symbiosis of technologically advanced manufacturing companies and Amish work are ultimately what made this effort possible.
“The Amish could not have responded to this need without the sophistication of some of the local companies,” Miller said. “And the local companies could not have responded to the need without the sheer work ethic and skillset of thousands of Amish women at their sewing machines in their homes.”
