‘A swab for every job’

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Business: M.L. Schmitt Inc. Where: 371 Taylor St., Springfield ing in-person, and many of our field employees could continue to work on jobs with precautions,” said Crevier, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Local 7 Apprenticeship Program who earned a master’s degree in project management from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2020.

For more info: Online, mlschmittelectric.com; call, 413-733-7868.

Both Crevier and Coppez have worked for M.L. Schmitt Inc. for more than 20 years.

“Starting as new business owners during a pandemic is something we will always remember,” Coppez said. “We learned that our M.L. Schmitt employees are top-notch and always eager to work despite the challenges we could face at any time, especially COVID-19.”

M.L. Schmitt has 65 full-time and two part-time employees.

“The pandemic taught us how important it is to be flexible,” Crevier added. “The pandemic made us become more flexible as far as having to be able to shift and react on the fly. We didn’t know when materials would arrive, who would be able to work, and we had to be more flexible in our approach.”

Most of the construction industry continued to work despite the pandemic. “Some of the biggest challenges were getting our work done on time and on budget with electricians becoming ill from COVID or staying home because they were close contacts,” Crevier said.

One pandemic-related challenge the business continues to face is related to supply.

“It’s very hard to get our electrical supply needs met when deliveries are delayed and prices are unstable,” Coppez explained.

Looking back on the past three years as an owner, Crevier expresses a sense of gratitude. “We are thankful for the great team of employees we have in the office and on the field — it’s like family,” he said.

“The pandemic made us stronger,” Coppez added.

“In 100 years, our business has experienced the Great Depression, World War II, economic downturns, labor shortages because of too many projects happening elsewhere, weather disasters — the list goes on,” Crevier said. “Not many electrical companies have seen as much as our company has!”

The company has survived by following its business vision, building relationships, making sure not to overextend to the point where it can’t service its customers and not being afraid to change with the times.

Completed projects range from industrial and commercial construction and renovations to solar construction, installation and maintenance.

Projects have included the Lanesborough Solar Project, the Newman Catholic Center at UMass-Amherst, the Williamsburg Public Safety Complex, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority in Springfield, Springfield’s Union Station, MGM Springfield’s hotel, Springfield Armory Museum, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Pope Francis High School in Springfield.

This year M.L. Schmitt Inc. opened a second office in Ashland. “We’ve built relationships with contractors who work outside of Western Massachusetts, and they asked us to work with them in the Worcester area,” Crevier said. “We followed our relationships that brought us outside of the Springfield market.”

The business owners are optimistic about the future even though the financial markets are unsteady. “Although interest rates are on the rise, there is still a lot of work to bid and chase,” Coppez said.

Super Brush is a leader in foam swab technology with uses in the medical, household, hobby, automotive and firearms industries. At right, Erain Borges holds a handful of injection molds at the Super Brush plant in Springfield. The molds are used in the company’s production of foam swabs used for a wide range of purposes from health care to hobbies.

By L ORI STABILE

Special to The Republican

The COVID pandemic was a boon for Springfield-headquartered foam swab maker Super Brush.

The company, which specializes in making foam swabs and applicators, found its products in demand when the pandemic hit in 2020.

Misty McGinnes, Super Brush’s general manager, said she was asked if the company had a swab that could be used in COVID-19 testing kits. Super Brush answered the call and it led to excessive growth for the manufacturer, boosting sales from 2019 to 2020 by 23%,

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Business: Super Brush

Where: 800 Worcester St., Springfield

For more info: Online, SuperBrush.com and 15% from 2020 to 2021.

“I think we did 150 million swabs between 2020 and 2021, then 70 million in 2021,” McGinnes recalled in a recent interview. The demand for the swabs was unexpected, as the kits were something new, McGinnes said.

However, orders for the swabs used in the COVID-19 testing kits started to decline in 2022, when approximately 28 million swabs were made for the kits. “A lot of people were left with a lot of inventory,” Mc-

Ginnes said.

Sales plateaued in 2022, and a recent slowdown in end-of-year and seasonal orders forced management to lay off 35 people in December from its 140-member workforce, McGinnes said. At the company’s peak during the pandemic, it employed 150 people. She hopes to rehire the laid-off employees as soon as next month once orders pick up.

She is projecting a 10% drop in sales for 2023 as business returns to preCOVID numbers.

“We always have ebb and flow,” McGinnes said. “We’re constantly chasing business, going to trade shows, trying to actually grow different types of business.”

The company has come

By E LIZABETH

L AFOND- C OPPEZ Special to The Republican

Avisit to Holyoke Sporting Goods feels like hitting a home run: Customers always score big with the best service and prices around.

Owned and operated by Betsy Frey, Holyoke Sporting Goods is located at 1584 Dwight St. in the Paper City. This 95-year-old business supplies brand-name sporting merchandise to local teams, schools, organizations and individuals.

“Holyoke is a great place and the people really support us,” Frey said. The store was established in 1928 by James Cleary, and when he passed away in 1954, Frey’s father, Ernest Brunault, purchased the business.

Frey worked in the store when she was in college, but then went back to school to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Western New England University, got married, bought a house and, by then, it was time for her father to retire.

“It made sense for me to purchase the business and continue its legacy in Holyoke,” she explained.

Now, 28 years later, Frey keeps Holyoke Sporting Goods thriving during this post-pandemic age of online shopping and internet price-checking.

She moved the shop from its original location in downtown Holyoke to its current location off Interstate 91 that offers ample parking.

“People assume you can get the best prices at big-box stores and that’s not always true,” Frey said. “I know Holyoke, and I sell for less and give my customers solid, old-fashioned personal service.”

Frey estimates 50% of the shoppers visit her store for a “Holyoke,” “South Hadley,” or “Easthampton” jacket, sweatshirt or hat, or for new soccer cleats or sneakers. The other half of her customers are purchasing merchandise for leagues, high schools, prepschools, baseball, softball, basketball and soccer equipment and apparel for corporate accounts.

Holyoke Sporting Goods is also a member of Sports, Inc., which is a national buying group dedicated to helping independent sporting goods retailers grow and prosper.

“There are several stores like mine that belong, and when we make our purchases together it gives us clout like a big store,” she explained.

Frey said she once thought sports were “recession proof,” as children always grow and continue to need new sports apparel and equipment. But when the pandemic began everything changed that perspective.

“The pandemic was devastating and occurred at the worst time of year,” Frey said. “I sell a lot for the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and it was canceled, and I had everything prepared for baseball and softball.

“I’ve never heard of school sports being canceled,” she added. “You just never know what’s ahead, and you have to be prepared to change course.”

Although Frey had to close her doors for about three months, from March through June 2020, with a store full of merchandise, she still went to work every single day.

“It was lonely,” she said. “Each day, I would call customers out of my address book to stay in touch.”

Holyoke Sporting Goods survived the pandemic thanks to its online component for schools and teams to order apparel, and she offered curbside pickup.

Also, Frey was the beneficiary of an unexpected grant for which Frey said she will forever be grateful.

The Marketing Doctor agency in Northampton offered a grant to help small businesses with a rebranding and advertising campaign in the face of supply-chain and pandemic-driven issues.

Frey applied, never thinking she’d receive it.

“After many months of interviews and preparing documents, I learned we were awarded the grant and it helped us tremendously,” she said.

The Marketing Doctor team helped Frey to get the business back to where she was before the pandemic. The effort included redesigning her website, producing a commercial and new logo, advertising on TV and radio, and social media assistance.

“They helped me for one year,” Frey said. “Their team was so responsive and very nice, and I felt like my ideas were important to them. It’s amazing what advertising can do. I had customers come in that I haven’t seen in years.”

Frey is pleased to be past the pandemic, saying she enjoys day-to-day interactions with her customers.

“I have so many great memories and amazing connections in the community,” she said.