Local Printer Gears Up to Make N95 Masks.
Gets Waiver from State on Shut-Down Order
Ignores Competitors Skirting the Law
GHP Media is one of the largest commercial printers in Connecticut and employers in West Haven. The company normally keeps 170 people busy in facilities in West Haven and Milford. GHP produces everything from business cards to coffee table books to 50-foot banners that hang off the sides of buildings, and it mails millions of printed pieces each month.
When Governor Ned Lamont issued an Executive Order on Friday, March 20, that all non-essential businesses in the state had to suspend in-plant operations, GHP was forced to furlough virtually the entire staff and presented with a dilemma. The shutdown order exempted certain businesses in essential sectors of the economy from having to shut down, but printers were not identified as an essential sector.
GHP realized that certain of its customers were in essential sectors and could not conduct their business without GHP’s support. For instance, GHP produces weekly signage for a large supermarket chain. Without a waiver from the governor’s order, GHP could not bring people into its plants to produce these signs.
On Sunday, when the State published guidance on the shutdown order and made it possible to seek a waiver, GHP applied for one. Tuesday night the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) granted a waiver from the shutdown order to GHP, allowing the company to bring employees into its plants for customers in one of 16 essential sectors of the economy.
The next morning, Fred Hoxsie, one of the owners of GHP, received a call from an industrial designer for a large hospital group, asking if GHP could help prototype and produce re-usable N-95 masks. With the waiver in hand, Fred responded that GHP would be thrilled to ask employees to come into the GHP facilities and work on such a project during the COVID-19 crisis.
GHP immediately began researching different materials for the masks and is now prototyping them for FDA approval. If FDA approval is granted, GHP expects to be producing up to one million of these masks every day.
Following is an interview with John Robinson, the principal owner and CEO of GHP.
West Haven Voice
How has it been operating your business since the COVID-19 crisis hit?
John Robinson
It has been a challenge for us and for everyone. Our printing business normally picks up significantly in March, and it did so again this year – for the first week, at least, and then it fell off the charts.
Trying to balance the health of Connecticut’s economy with that of its citizens is a brutal task. I admire the leadership Governor Lamont has shown during this crisis, and the health of Connecticut citizens is clearly his first priority right now. I want to make sure GHP’s policies and actions are aligned with his orders.
West Haven Voice
I imagine you cannot have people work from home to keep your presses running. Have your employees been willing to come into your facilities to work during the crisis?
John Robinson
We have asked all people who can work from home – estimators, project managers, and certain pre-press staff – to do so. However, printing presses, binding machines and other large equipment cannot be run remotely. Only a handful of employees have declined to come into the plant for fear of contagion, and I completely understand and respect their choice.
I hesitate to ask anyone to come in the plant during this crisis. I have no concern about the company – GHP has been around for decades with a strong financial position and will certainly survive the crisis. Once business resumes, sometime later this year I expect we will be swamped with work.
I have no hesitation asking people to come in, however, when I see a project like the N95 masks. And I imagine if we begin full-scale production of these, we will have more willing employees than we can space safely apart to get all the assembly done in-house.
West Haven Voice
How are your customers dealing with the COVID-19 crisis?
John Robinson
Most of them are taking it just as seriously as we are, and many of them have suspended their print orders. After all, if you are a restaurant chain or casino that has closed your doors, you do not need any invitational or promotional material right now.
Of course, everyone who needs print considers it essential, and some companies who we are not allowed to print for right now have taken their work out of state, where less severe restrictions on printers may apply.
But most of our customers who are not in the essential sector list have decided to put their printing needs on hold for now, even if they are still operating.
West Haven Voice
How are your competitors dealing with the COVID-19 crisis?
John Robinson
Some of them appear to be respecting the Governor’s Order and have either closed their plants entirely or restricted their work to customers in essential sectors.
Others appear to be flouting the law. GHP was told by the CT DECD that printers are not essential businesses and have to obtain a waiver to continue in-plant operations. That waiver explicitly limits us to doing work for customers in essential sectors.
Our largest competitor in the state, Allied Printing in Manchester, has a banner on their website that proclaims them to be an “essential business” and fully open to all work. Allied staff has been relentlessly pursuing our customers and salespeople this week, urging them to bring their work there, saying GHP is closed. I don’t understand how they can do this.
West Haven Voice
What are you going to do about your competitors who are not complying with the Governor’s Order?
John Robinson
GHP is ignoring the behavior of those competitors. And I am sure the DECD has way more important things to do in this crisis than to police the printing industry.
Companies that flout the law and subject their employees and the citizens of Connecticut to increased risk of contagion have to live with themselves. At GHP, we’re too busy trying to figure out how to make a re-usable N95 mask to worry about what other companies are doing.
Best of luck GHP
GHP is AWESOME