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From printing menus to manufacturing face shields with the Trabon Group

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down, with small businesses being hit especially hard. This is a pivotal time for SMBs, and the way they respond to the pressure will determine how their business runs for years to come. Many companies are taking this difficult situation and turning it into an opportunity. In our Positive Pivots series, we're diving deeper into what these innovative businesses have done, and what lies beneath the surface to produce this kind of creativity and resilience.

This week we spoke with Chief Business Development Officer of Trabon Group Nancy Hampton to learn about her company's response to the pandemic and how a new workstream is coming full circle for them.

What is Trabon Group?

Trabon Group is a 52-year-old family owned business that partners with restaurant brands to help them manage and integrate complex menu and marketing communications through ever-evolving proprietary technology and innovation. We began as a printing company and moved into the restaurant business in the 1970s. It all started with one restaurant group that could no longer manage their menu versions and data due to rapid expansion. Trabon stepped forward to craft a system known today as MenuNet, that revolutionized the management of menu data for print and digital rollouts.

How did COVID-19 affect your business?

As stay at home orders came down, many of our restaurant clients had to temporarily close their dining rooms and some of our usual work paused or slowed down. On the other hand, other clients needed our help republishing new menus that now incorporated family style meal kits, alcohol take home kits, or fewer options. A lot of our customers needed help with their online channels and our dine in menu productions slowed down. We furloughed the bulk of our workforce in March, but it turned out that only lasted a few days.

Our owner, Tony Trabon, read an article about healthcare workers in Washington State making their own face masks and shields out of office supplies due to shortages and realized we had manufacturing equipment not in use and a capable team not working. Because we routinely dye cut synthetic materials and assemble menus and marketing materials, Tony led our team to quickly prototype a face shield using medically approved samples. We reached out to our regular suppliers who used their network to get us the polyester, foam, and elastic materials needed to scale up production and make the full shields. We have seen so much demand that we even acquired new equipment to speed up production.

We started connecting with local hospitals and now produce over 8,000 face shields a day and deliver across the US from Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa to New York, Florida, and Alaska.

How are you communicating these changes with your customers?

We have had a lot success reaching out to hospitals, clinics, and restaurants directly to get them the face shields they need and want.

We used personal Facebook and Instagram accounts to post about our new adaptations and face shield product. We utilized our company LinkedIn page along with targeted email marketing. Our immediate focus was on the needs of healthcare workers followed by those of restaurant brands. As restaurants are refining their takeout operations and beginning to reopen dining rooms, they are looking for a way to deliver confidence in a safe environment while still showing customers the warmth of a smile.

We are still making menus and signage as restaurants reopen, but it has been inspiring to see our COVID-19 innovation come full circle back to our restaurant partner base.

How do you think the pivot you made in response to COVID-19 will have a long-term impact on your business?

We will keep making face shields for hospitals, restaurants, and anyone else in need as long as there is a demand! The response from our vendors has been fantastic. We know we will never out manufacture a manufacturing giant, but we are proud to play a part in helping build safer environments.

We are celebrating our agility and innovation and are so happy we were able to keep our Trabon team members employed and will continue to do what we need to do to take care of them and our community.

Visit the Trabon Group's face shield website here.

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