Baker Announces $10M Investment for Manufactures Pivoting to Protective Gear

Brenna Nan Schneider of 99 Degrees flipped a shapeless blue gown around on Monday at the governor's daily COVID-19 update.

This nondescript item and materials similar to it are now vital to health-care centers across the state because of the highly contagious novel coronavirus. The simple gown also marked a pivot for manufacturers in Massachusetts as a "Manufacturing Emergency Response Team" helps businesses retool to produce much-needed personal protective gear.

Schneider's company employs 150 in Lawrence in designing and producing a range of wearable products including technology applications. When she first learned of COVID-19, the first reaction was fear, and making contingency plans to address needs of the company, its employees, and its suppliers and customers.

99 Degrees first worked with the state's emergency team on making masks. Then with MERT on other critical needs. Now it's manufacturing one million, level one isolation gowns for the medical community.

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