LUDINGTON, Mich. — Beer and manufacturing are two things our state is famous for, and when combined, those two things helped a lakeshore company protect its employees from COVID-19.
Ludington Beverage's work has been deemed essential and many of its employees need to be out in the community to do their jobs. To keep them safe, the company ordered face masks, but they found the wait was too long. That's when company president Tad Reed came up with the solution.
"He saw a need for providing protection for our team out in the market, and he being the resourceful, innovative fellow that he is, he decided to make a face mask out of a koozie," said team member Danielle Kowalski.
"I walk in his office and he’s got his pocket knife removing the seam. We worked through some prototypes together. Then I brought some home and sewed quite a few, and then we worked through some design glitches and improved it from there and made a bunch of them for our team."
The finished product is held on the user's face using rubber bands that wrap around the ears. The company has posted a video on its Facebook page showing how to make the mask. You'll need a koozie, rubber bands, and a knife or scissors.
"The sewing machine is helpful. I did sew one by hand, which isn’t as pretty and it was actually a little harder to get through the layers than you would expect," said Kowalski.
"A solution that I thought was great was a hot glue gun and I wasn’t sure how it would work with the material, if it would melt the foam or anything like that, but it seemed fine and it’s actually sort of a strong seal. The only thing I’m unsure about is washing the one with the hot glue or putting it in the dryer."
It takes Kowalski just a little over two minutes to make each mask, and she says it's well worth her time to keep Ludington Beverage employees safe.
"It’s just the unknown for everyone is the biggest thing," she said. "We’re trying to be proactive while keeping our team safe and making sure to provide them with necessary materials to keep them safe and health like the face masks, knowing that they’re providing an essential service."
Ludington Beverage serves Lake, Mason, Manistee, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo and Benzie counties. They market, sell, and distribute Anheuser-Busch InBev brands along with regional brands, Michigan craft beers, wine and non-alcoholic beverages.
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