Eclipse Resumes Full Production, Recalls All Employees

June 8, 2020  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

The company’s current focus is on producing a full line of roll-pack mattresses to accommodate an increase in orders being sold by its retailers through e-commerce sites.

“We spent the last several weeks working with our retailers to help them ramp up their omnichannel business. The strategy is hugely successful and actually puts us in a position where we have a backlog of orders,” said Stuart Carlitz, president and chief executive officer of Eclipse International. “Our employees are really excited to be back at work. We have taken extraordinary steps to not only assure them a safe work environment, but we are also focused on taking increased steps to assure the safety of the products we are sending out the door.”

Carlitz said retailers that have embraced the internet are better equipped to weather the economic turmoil caused by the required closures through their online platforms. “As much of the country had moved toward staying at home, the uptick in online orders for new mattresses has been very apparent, and our customers that have developed an omnichannel approach are reaping the rewards,” he said.

“Today’s environment requires an online component, and the pandemic has expedited the move to online for retailers that had not yet added online shopping carts. During the last couple of months, consumers have flocked online to buy everything from common household goods to big ticket items like consumer electronics and mattresses. This shift is here to stay and will continue to grow,” Carlitz added.

The company, which furloughed 20 percent of its employees when its home state of New Jersey issued a stay-at-home order in March, has been ramping back up over the last month. The New Jersey plant was able to remain open, and with its slightly smaller staff, was one of the first companies in the nation to convert production over to make medical masks. Eclipse International was able to produce 45,000 masks in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and donated to local hospitals and first responders. The company is still manufacturing masks.

Carlitz encouraged brick and mortar retailers to look for other innovative ways to keep their businesses open and to drive traffic, even going as far as selling masks, uniforms and other personal protective equipment for consumers, first responders and healthcare professionals.

“The extraordinary times we are living in require extraordinary innovation to keep your businesses open, your staff employed and to be a local business with purpose. In some communities, this may mean you need a formal waiver from government authorities to sell these types of goods, but it is certainly worth it today,” Carlitz concluded.