Polaris MEP poll shows support for state COVID-19 coronavirus guidance

Providence,
RI – May 5, 2020 – A poll of owners/CEOs of Rhode Island
manufacturing businesses found that, despite operational challenges posed by
state guidance on social distancing and masks, more than one-quarter would not
ask for any restrictions to be relaxed at this moment. The Polaris MEP survey
also revealed that sales is the area most affected by the pandemic to date.

“As much as the bottom line is
important, the health of our state and residents are far more important,” wrote
one Rhode Island manufacturer. “We would not want the current restrictions
relaxed until it is deemed safe.”

“The Rhode Island manufacturing sector appreciated the responsibility of remaining open during the lockdown, and they took employee safely seriously, for instance by quickly coalescing around the Manufacturing pledge created by the RI Manufacturing Association” said Christian Cowan, Polaris MEP Center Director. “That commitment is reinforced by our survey findings.”

Polaris MEP, an affiliate of the
national Manufacturing Extension Partnership, provides competitive business
improvement programs to Rhode Island’s manufacturing industry. The poll was
part of the agency’s efforts to innovate supportive solutions to requirements
such as face coverings.

Cowan said the survey highlights how the pandemic has affected manufacturers in different ways. “While some companies have seen business increase or have been able to pivot to making items needed for COVID-19 response, others have been hit hard by decreases in sales.”

Highlights of the survey of
CEOs/owners include:

• 62% said Sales was the business area
  hardest-hit by COVID-19
• 38% of respondents cited Social Distancing as
  having the greatest negative impact on operations vs. 26% citing Visitor Access
  limits
• 11% of those surveyed said None of the state
  guidance/restrictions had restricted their ability to operate
• 26% of RI’s manufacturing business owners
  would not have the state relax any restrictions unless or until COVID-19 was
  fully contained
• 29% of owners said it would take them less
  than one month to return to “business as usual,” were COVID-19 to end today.
  Another 29% said it would take one to three months; 25% said it would take more
  than six months to return to fully functioning

About Polaris MEP

Polaris
MEP provides competitive business improvement programs to grow Rhode Island’s
manufacturing industry. Polaris MEP is a statewide nonprofit organization. An affiliate
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (NIST MEP), the consultancy is a business unit of URI
Ventures (formerly,
the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation). www.PolarisMEP.org