Winnebago Manufacturing Masks for COVID-19 Crisis

April 1, 2020

Fantasy RV Tours and Winnebago Outdoor Adventures, the Winnebago RV owners’ travel program, joined forces this year to offer new and exciting RV tours exclusively to RVers who own Winnebago and Itasca branded vehicles. The exclusive partnership gives Fantasy the opportunity to provide new and exciting destinations to Winnebago owners, allowing them to enhance their travel experiences.

During this period of the Coronavirus, it’s even more than that, as Winnebago makes crucial contributions to its community. Winnebago's Forest City employees have pivoted to creating medical masks to MercyOne North Iowa. The masks are being manufactured by employees at the Company’s Stitchcraft facility, which houses industrial sewing capabilities and produces soft goods for Winnebago Motorhome production. The facility typically specializes in creating items such as seats, sofas, cushions, pillows, draperies, shades, valances, mattresses, bedspreads, and a host of other sewn parts.

“As the health crisis has evolved, we have focused our efforts on determining how we can best use our Company’s resources to provide support in overall relief efforts and specifically efforts that positively impact our local communities,” said Chris West, vice president of operations at Winnebago Industries. 

Winnebago Industries worked with Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated to offer potential mask production services. A connection was made with MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center and the research and design process began.

The first shipment of masks is set to be delivered Monday, March 30 and additional deliveries will continue to fill the first production run of approximately 6,000 masks. The masks are being donated to MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center and will be used by clinical staff as they treat patients.

"Community partnerships like this are the perfect example of how good can come from this very critical public health situation. The safety of our colleagues and patients is our top priority, and this generous donation from Winnebago Industries brings a crucial boost to our efforts to secure personal protective equipment," said Rod Schlader, president of MercyOne North Iowa.