local t o w o r l d w id e Covenant Plastics
Gallatin has always had a thriving business community, with many companies providing products and services for customers around the globe. In the 2021 edition of the Gallatin City Guide, we shine the spotlight on four worth watching.
c o v e n a n t p l a s t ic s Covenant Plastics may not be a household name, but you’ve probably interacted with the company’s products without knowing it. Launched in 1995 by Bill Roark, Covenant Plastics got its start manufacturing plastic point-ofpurchase displays for the gospel music industry. When demand for displays declined in the early 2000s, Bill redirected the company’s efforts. Today, the company manufactures plastic parts and sells materials that other manufacturers use to fabricate parts. The COVID-19 crisis dealt Covenant Plastics what appeared to be a fatal blow. As the pandemic unfolded, nearly all the company’s customers were deemed non-essential businesses, and most were forced to shut down.
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“By the time Sumner County ordered us to close, we weren’t doing enough business to keep the doors open,” Bill said. “I gave my employees layoff notices, and the next day, my wife and ca e in t ure ut hat t ne t That morning, something unexpected happened. At 8:30 a.m., the phone rang. It was a heart surgeon in Los Angeles. Personal protective equipment was in short supply, said the surgeon. Could Covenant make patient shields? Bill had no idea what these shields looked like, so the surgeon directed him to a website. The shields were a clear plastic box with two armholes in the back. A healthcare worker intubating a patient placed the shield over the patient's head and reached through
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the holes to complete the intubation process. If a patient sneezed or coughed, the shield protected healthcare workers from exposure to the coronavirus. “I have no idea how the surgeon found me,” Bill admitted. Covenant Plastics hadn’t been in the fabrication business since 2005, but Bill agreed to manufacture the shields. He recalled most of his employees and they started filling orders. Eventually, word got around that Covenant Plastics could anufacture these har t n ite s and orders tumbled in from hospitals across the country. The company also started manufacturing sneeze guards. “There was a two-month period there where making patient shields and sneeze guards was basically all we did.”
