VIDEO: Detroit's Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center Makes PPE and Trains Workers at Same Time
Updated: Apr 6, 2021
By FOX 2 Detroit
The video below was published on FOX 2 Detroit March 3, 2021. We are sharing because the work being done by ISAIC is an interesting case study for the sewn products industry and U.S. manufacturing. SPESA President Michael McDonald previously sat down with Jen Guarino, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at ISAIC, to discuss the changing workforce in the textile and apparel industry in the United States; the challenges and opportunities that businesses face as they train the next generation of the industry; and how the current pandemic has drastically and permanently changed the landscape of domestic manufacturing in our industry. You can watch that interview here.
Before Covid-19 hit, SPESA planned to host an Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference in Detroit and tour the ISAIC operations. We hope to provide that opportunity for our members in 2022.
The magic and the masks being made at ISAIC — The Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center — a non profit, a first of its kind in the country, these workers from a diverse array of backgrounds.