A Burlington operator of a chain of alteration shops wants to pitch in and re-tool operations to produce masks to help serve frontline workers and the general public.
Stitch It, which operates in 55 locations across Canada says it has the ability to produce up to 78,000 masks per week. “Right now we have 350-plus sew experts and a, similar number of sewing machines sitting idle,” said Alain Baird, CEO and founder.
“Stitch It has offered their production capacity to the Federal and Provincial Governments. They have told us they will be matching us with groups and jurisdictions in need of our Mask production, “ Baird added.
Stitch It will be offering the masks for online purchase by the general public in the coming week as well.
“Our intention is to get these skilled employees back to work so they can support their families,” said Baird.
The company aim is to provide masks to the frontline and essential helpers to limit the demand for N95 masks.
Already Stitch It has orders from local companies Thrive group, Villa Italia, The Good Shepard Charity and Longo’s grocery stores. More orders will be coming. The company will not be making a profit on the masks. After paying for labour, fabric, elastic, thread, packaging and shipping, the operation will be hopefully break-even. The real benefit is keeping our workforce together with salary and benefits.
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