Molly Varangkounh, president of Hy-Capacity, said they had seen posts on social media about hospitals facing a shortage of personal protective equipment like face masks. She then reached out to administrators at Humboldt County Memorial Hospital to see if they could help supply them with some PPE.

Though Hy-Capacity sells tractor parts, it also has a sewing department that makes tractor seats.

At the time, Varangkounh said, the hospital said it had an adequate supply of PPE. But a few weeks later, they called back and Hy-Capacity got started making masks.

“We made a few samples, but we were struggling with what to use for a nose piece,” Varangkounh said. “It needed to be flexible, washable and be something we could somehow sew in place.”

-Submitted photo
Brandi Beske, a Hy-Capacity employee of more than 20 years, sews a mask in the company’s production room.

They tried pipe cleaners, paper clips and looked online for more ideas. Then Plant Manager Steve Staples found a solution — he reached out to Walt Jensen of Jensen Trailers, who created nose pieces using aluminum.

“It took a little bit of time to get some of the materials needed because it’s not our normal stuff,” Varangkounh said. “We had to get some fabric on order. We used our local craft supply store to get some things.”

Over the past month, the sewing department at Hy-Capacity has sewed hundreds of masks, Varangkounh said. They’ve recently started sewing hospital gowns after a request from HCMH.

“The fabric for the gowns took more time to get here,” Varangkounh said. “We did masks internally here and then we also made kits available for volunteers to take and sew them. A handful of spouses reached out wanting to help. Our primary focus has been on the mask side and now we’re shifting over to gown protection.”

The mask and gown production hasn’t replaced the regular sewing production at Hy-Capacity, but they have fit it into their production schedule, while also staggering shifts to help facilitate social distancing.

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Hy-Capacity Tractor Parts in Humboldt is producing cloth masks and hospital gowns to donate to Humboldt County Memorial Hospital.

So far, Hy-Capacity has only donated the masks and gowns it has produced to HCMH. However, Varangkounh said she has reached out to other medical facilities who might need the PPE as well, though they don’t want to overcommit their production capabilities.

As a local, family-owned business in Humboldt, Varangkounh said it was important to Hy-Capacity to help in any way it can.

“We’re all in this together and I think in a situation where we all feel fairly helpless, it’s important for us to feel we can be a part of something,” she said. “Our team members were very engaged and eager to help with medical needs. We’re a tractor part company, so we felt very, very strongly if we can help in the medical world in any way, that’s just a small sacrifice we can do to help everybody in this situation.”

Michelle Sleiter, CEO of HCMH, has been very appreciative of the support and help from Hy-Capacity and the Humboldt community during this time.

“This community effort warrants an unwavering amount of thanks and makes our staff proud to be a part of such a giving and united community,” she said. “While health care facilities across the nation face limited supplies of personal protective equipment, we are grateful for our local resources that have taken a great deal of the stress off our supply need and are ensuring our caregivers are protected.”

-Submitted photo
Many Hy-Capacity employees and their family members have helped with making hundreds of cloth masks over the past month. In front from left are Sherri Hansen, Anthony Christopherson, Claire Varangkounh, Macey Varangkounh and Lona Wilson. In back from left are Scott Dahl, Denny Vaudt, Chad Vaudt, Barb Boyington, Brandi Beseke.