MAGNET Creates Re-Opening Guide for Ohio Manufacturers

As parts of Ohio’s economy begin to re-open over the next few days, the manufacturing industry is getting some tips. The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, better known as MAGNET, released guidelines and a checklist for each phase of the re-opening.

MAGNET President and CEO Ethan Karp said the organization has tips on everything from the Paycheck Protection Program to sanitation and safety concerns. Karp on the reason they made the guide

“There were a whole bunch of best practices that companies needed to understand on how to keep themselves from actually spreading the virus inside their own companies. Things that now the governor is talking about, but a few weeks ago were just being passed along from what we learned from what South Korea did or what Australia was doing, etc.,” Karp said.

MAGNET is available for free consultations on reopening. He also recommends looking at the personal protective equipment exchange program it started, where companies can purchase masks and hand sanitizer from Ohio-based manufacturers.

Karp also said many companies deemed essential have stayed open and led the way in keeping their workers safe, but even they will need help as the economy is re-opened.

Karp on the role manufacturing can play in reopening the economy

“The biggest thing in re-opening here is not the speed, but how fast the economy is going to recover," he said. "Our manufacturing that drives half of our entire economy is highly dependent on how the overall economy does.”

Karp is inspired by how many manufacturers were able to shift production to masks and hand sanitizer. He said Ohioans should feel confident in the ability of the state’s economy to rebound based on the work of those companies during the pandemic.

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