Patriotism on Overtime
Press Enterprise, September 20, 2001

by Susan Schwartz

BERWICK -- As a fervent patriotism envelops the country, Berwick Industries workers have been struggling to meet the sudden demand for red, white and blue ribbon.

Schoolchildren are selling bows to raise money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. Homeowners are using it to tie big, fancy bows around the columns of their porches. Motorists are tying it to the antennas of their cars.

"We started getting calls from people around here who wanted donations the day after it happened," said Scott Shea, senior vice president for manufacturing and distribution. "And it just started escalating. On Friday, we had more than 300 phone calls requesting patriotic ribbon."

The company's normal customers, large retailers, started calling to order tens of thousands of spools of ribbon, Shea said. They were joined by new, smaller orders from schools and community groups.

Nancy Schott, vice president of human resources, said that by Wednesday, a day after hijacked airplanes hurtled into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the company had already sold out of its entire inventory of patriotic ribbons.

Berwick Industries, the nation's largest manufacturer of ribbons, was already in the midst of its busiest season, preparing for the Christmas rush.

Employees came in on overtime, took some of the red, emerald and gold Christmas ribbons out of the spooling machines and rethreaded them with red, white and blue.

Those presses print the multi-colored ribbons that are the most in demand, Shea said.

It's not the first time Berwick Industries has seen a rush of orders in response to a national crisis.

Cliff Kishbaugh, the assistant manager for printing, has put in 40 years at the plant.

He remembers a huge demand for yellow ribbon during the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis, as well as the call for that same ribbon during the Gulf War.

But he's never seen anything close to this volume, he said.

"As soon as the crash happened, I knew we'd be inundated," Kishbaugh said. "But I thought there'd be more calls for black ribbon."

Instead, the plant has seen a big demand for ribbon in the colors of the American flag.

It's also had a run on ribbon with the American flag printed on it.

One version, "Glory Red, White and Blue," features waving flags pressed closely together.

Another version is a simple, elongated flag, lined with gold along the edges.

Plant employees requested a spool of that ribbon, which they cut into lapel pins that some were still wearing Monday.

Workers are also busily turning out miles of yellow ribbon, which is also in demand.

Right now, there are so many orders for ribbon, the plant is struggling to keep up, Shea said.

Regular customers are first in line for service, he said. New people calling out of the blue may have to wait two weeks or more, depending on what they want.

Solid color ribbons -- red, white or blue -- can be finished more quickly, since they don't need to go through the printing process, he said.

Meanwhile, the plant is donating miles of ribbon to local groups trying to raise money for disaster victims and show their patriotism.

The plant has given ribbon to the Red Cross, Berwick High School and Citadel Communications.

Requests for donations have come from as far away Boston and Tennessee, Schott said. But with the massive demand already taxing its workers and equipment, the company is limiting its donations to local groups.

"We only have so much printing capacity," Schott said. "And as soon as I walked in this morning at 8, the calls were already starting."