Outdoor equipment maker Allen shifts Broomfield production facility to PPE
BROOMFIELD — The Allen Co., which for 50 years has manufactured hunting and fishing gear, has retooled its Broomfield factory to crank out personal protective equipment for health-care workers such as masks and gowns rather than gun cases and waders.
“We digitally developed some templates for these, then just went ahead with cutting and sewing them,” Allen vice president of sales and marketing Doug Jenner told BizWest. “We are entirely focused on supporting our local hospitals and first responders.”
The PPE is made of polypropylene non-woven materials that Allen previously used to fabricate its gun case liners and range bags. The finished products are then distributed by Allen staff directly to Broomfield and eastern Boulder County health-care providers at facilities such as UCHealth Broomfield Hospital and Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville. This effort will continue indefinitely, Jenner said.
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“We’re all in uncharted territory, so we’re just going to have to see how this all transpires and how long there’s a need” for PPE, he said.
While Jenner was unable to say exactly how many gowns and masks Allen has made since taking on the new challenge about two weeks ago, the figure “is in the thousands,” he said.
“They’re about to take on just about everything we can make,” he said. “There’s a desperate need.”
The firm, which employs roughly 200 people, is moving into a new Colorado Technology Center 150,000-square-foot headquarters and factory space in Louisville this spring.
“We’ve been in this community for 50 years, and we felt like it was our duty and obligation if we could do anything to change our business practices and manufacture stuff people really need now,” Jenner said. “We’re happy to do it, and we’re just hoping we can help out a bit.”
