STEPPING UP: Covercraft Quickly Changes Gears From Protecting Cars to Protecting People

June 12, 2020
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by Barbara Toombs

Surgical gowns in the production line at Covercraft.

When it comes to protecting our vehicles, Barrett-Jackson has always known our partners at Covercraft take the prize with their incredible offering of full vehicle covers, seat covers, front-end masks, dashboard covers, window sunscreens and more.

But when the worldwide pandemic hit in March, the company quickly saw they could use their expertise to protect something even more important than cars: people.

Surgical gowns being produced at Covercraft’s Wichita Falls facility.

The Oklahoma-based Covercraft Industries was in the same predicament as many businesses when COVID-19 became a household word – they were forced to shut down operations to comply with state guidelines. But you can’t keep a good company down.

Covercraft decided to lend its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed Personal Protective Equipment, mainly gowns and masks, for healthcare workers and first responders fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. Just a short time later, furloughed employees were volunteering to come back in and start making surgical gowns and face masks as fast as they could crank them out.

“Covercraft’s expertise in working with non-woven specialty fabrics has allowed us to pivot our operations in the USA … to helping provide hospitals and first responders with personal protective equipment incredibly fast,” said Clay Callan, President and COO of Covercraft Industries. “As an industry leader in the product categories we manufacture, we felt it was our duty to step in and help our country in this time of need.”

As of the beginning of April, approximately 50 Oklahoma employees and 40 Texas employees were brought back from furlough to help with the important cause.

The company didn’t neglect their automotive fanbase during this time of quarantine, either – they ran a “Show At Home Digital Car Show” on Facebook, which required entrants to send in photos of their rides along with a description to compete for prizes throughout the month of May. Automotive TV personality Cristy Lee hosted the three finalists on Instagram Live on May 21, and when all the votes were counted, the winner was a 1970 Plymouth AAR ’Cuda.

Huge kudos to our partners at Covercraft for not only keeping our car-collecting spirits up during this difficult time – but more importantly, doing their part to keep our health care workers safe!