Specialty Fabrics Review September 2020 - 40

I'm glad we didn't
jump into that whole
hog and end up stuck
with a million yards
of elastic or other
materials.
Aaron Krouse

LOWY ENTERPRISES INC.

needed hardware for tie-down straps,"
Bourget says. "Another company involved
in ventilators needed snaps for carrying
straps. Business shifted."
Ever since hardware manufacturing
moved largely offshore, companies such
as CMC have been niche manufacturers,
making it difficult to compete on price
alone, according to Bourget. "But our
orders related to COVID-19 are back to
the old days," he says. "The volumes are
substantial, and everyone wants them right
away. So many overseas manufacturers
were shut down or couldn't get their
products here fast enough. And customers
want their parts made in the USA. That's
where we come in."
And while COVID-related product sales
have slowed, Bourget says, the company's
traditional customers are beginning to
reopen, and business is improving.
SHIFTING DEMAND
"We're not setting any records, but
we're still here and still in business," says
Aaron Krouse, owner and chief operating

For nearly two months, the only customers Lowy Enterprises, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.,
heard from were those looking for elastic to make face masks. However, the company
was careful not to overestimate the demand window, according to owner and COO Aaron
Krouse. Photo: Lowy Enterprises.

officer of Lowy Enterprises Inc. in
Rancho Dominguez, Calif. The company
distributes webbing, fasteners, soft goods
and hot cutters.
When the pandemic shutdown was
announced, Krouse says he wasn't sure
if Lowy would be considered an essential
business. "But our customers quickly told
us we were," he says. "We support law
enforcement, the military, first responders
... so we stayed open."
On the first day of the lockdown, Lowy
began getting calls for elastic. "We sell
elastics, but we don't really carry elastic for
masks and things like that, so we got into
high gear and sourced it," he says. "For a
solid six to eight weeks, all we heard from
was customers who wanted to make masks."
Krouse was grateful for the opportunity,
but he says he was careful from the
beginning not to overestimate the time the
business window would be open. "That
business has basically died now," he says.
"I'm glad we didn't jump into that whole
hog and end up stuck with a million yards
of elastic or other materials. We considered
buying more, but we didn't, and I'm glad."
Nicole Cacciatori, vice president of Batz
Corp., a metal hardware manufacturer
and supplier in Prattsville, Ark., says the
pandemic has affected her company in
some unexpected ways. It's not surprising,
she says, that sales of the snap hooks Batz
sells by "the tens of thousands" to a batting
cage maker have come to a standstill.
However, the buckles it sells that are
used to make dog collars are a different
story. "Those sales have probably doubled,"
she says. "There's been a huge spike in
online business in the pet industry. People
are off work; they have more time to shop
online and to spend time with their pets."
LOGISTICAL HURDLES
Gary Grewal, president and CEO of
American Plastics, Tracy, Calif., a
manufacturer of fastening products and
trim, knew his company should be in

40 REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2020

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8/26/20 9:22 PM
Specialty Fabrics Review September 2020

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