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Max Brickle, President of The Brickle Group, gave a factory tour to some of our state’s politicians including Governor Gina Raimondo and Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt. Topics such as the state of the manufacturing industry, qualifications for working in a manufacturing factory, the history of The Brickle Group and its’ subsidiaries, as well as plans for the future were discussed.

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When asked about his reasoning behind the donation, Max said, “This has been a tough year for all of us. We’ve been sourcing and trading PPE gear supporting states, businesses, and other organizations for the past 9 months. It has helped us keep our doors open. But when we can offer to help our local community as the pandemic is getting worse, that is something we always strive to do. We have been a part of the Rhode Island community for more than 80 years and look forward to being neighbors and friends for the next 80.”

The Brickle Group is no stranger to helping out whenever possible. As the largest wool blanket manufacturer in the country, Northwest Woolen Mills has been supplying blankets to disaster relief organizations, homeless shelters, and other businesses to support those in need for more than 40 years. Heat Smart, another subsidiary of The Brickle Group, helps low-income families be more efficient in managing the rising cost of energy.

In addition to its traditional workload, Northwest Woolen Mills began trading in and distributing PPE to states, local schools, organizations, and businesses in March with the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic. With a vaccine rollout starting, Northwest Woolen Mills and The Brickle Group have started to return to their traditional business focus but remain vigilant to continue to help in whatever way possible.

To learn more about The Brickle Group, its businesses, and how it has kept textile manufacturing alive in New England since the industrial revolution, please reach out to Business Development and Marketing Manager Alex d’Anjou at adanjou@hbrickle.com.

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The company submitted and won awards for a three-year contract for both Snow Camo Trousers and Parka for the Army expected to be worth nearly $13 million dollars. In addition, the most recent 5-year contract for Wool Berets was also awarded last month to Northwest Woolen Mills, expected to be worth over $18 million dollars.

Max Brickle, President of The Brickle Group, noted, “We’re excited to be able to continue supporting our troops and local communities and industries that will benefit from this award. Especially during these uncertain economic times that Covid19 has brought us to. This will help not only our company and employees and our Rhode Island community, but all of our subcontractors and their staff as we all weather the Covid-19 storm.”

With its extensive background and global contacts in the textile industry, Northwest Woolen Mills has also recently converted part of its business focus to sourcing and supplying PPE gear for federal, state, and local government, businesses large and small, NGOs, and schools around the country to fight Covid-19. It is currently waiting to hear on several federal government contracts related to hard to find USA made PPE.

The Brickle Group, to which Northwest Woolen Mills belongs, is a diverse textile manufacturing company. Its other divisions include Bouckaert Industrial Textiles, which manufactures nonwoven fabrics, and Hyman Brickle and Son which recycles fabrics and yarns and creates new textile products like the yarn that goes into every MLB baseball.

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Surprisingly, the jacket has been around since the 1800’s when the first variation was worn by then naval powerhouse, the Dutch. The name pea coat originated from the Dutch word “pije” which was used in the Dutch language to describe a coat made from coarse wool fabric.

While the Dutch are credited for inventing the pea coat, it was the British navy who can take the credit for the popularization of the jacket. The British version of the coat was similarly designed for naval duties, particularly designed to be a uniform for petty officers.

The coat then made its way across the Atlantic for a third appearance, this time with the American Navy. The U.S. Navy adopted the coat and used the coat for “reefers”, who were the sailors responsible for the unenviable task of climbing up the rigging of sailing ships.

The common denominator for all three countries for adopting the peacoat was a need for a durable piece of outwear that could withstand the harsh rain, wind, and cold temperatures typically experienced out at sea.

Traditionally peacoats are constructed out of melton wool containing between 50%-100% wool with the best being 100%. The wool is woven tightly and treated with heat to bind the fibers together resulting in a very warm, water and wind-resistant fabric that was perfect for life at sea.

The current US Navy standard peacoat is made from 100% wool and is supplied by the manufacturer Northwest Woolen Mills (A Division of The Brickle Group). Since the US Navy in the process of moving to a more modern synthetic parka jacket, this mean that Northwest Woolen Mills is producing the last production contract ever of this historic coat due to end February 2019. It is 100% US sourced and made and while it may be knocked off in the future, it will never be “original” again.

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The Brickle Group contacted RIRAL to explore options about upskilling its employees. RIRAL introduced Brickle’s Management Team to the CSP funding source for onsite incumbent workforce training furnished by the Governor’s Workforce Board’s new Real Pathways Program. The CSP Grant is a significant employer incentive that pays for a substantial portion of every hour of educational preparation and instruction for the onsite classes to improve employees’ core skills; including ELL workplace communication, basic skills through high school equivalency, and basic computer literacy. The Brickle Group, RIRAL and the CSP worked together to create a curriculum that incorporated real life vocabulary and materials from the workplace to optimally improve workplace communication.Benefits from worksite training include better communication with supervisors, managers, co-workers, customers and clients. Such training often results in reduced turnover and layoffs while increasing safety, productivity and efficiency. Moreover, entry levels employees are upskilled giving rise to boosts in morale and confidence and increased promotion internally.

Another business benefiting from core skills classes for employees and CSP funding is the Dean Hotel in Providence. The Dean is currently running English language classes customized for the needs of housekeeping staff, as well as Spanish language classes for Managers. These services are being provided by Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative (RIFLI) through the Providence Public Library.

“We have been very pleased with the staff response to the program as our participants come to work each day with new vocabulary and a clearer sense of their worth and purpose within the work community,” states General Manager of The Dean Hotel Aarin Clemons.

The RI Core Skills Partnership (CSP), a statewide collaboration of Adult Education (AE) providers and employers, serves employers by matching them with AE providers who conduct onsite workplace education with a curriculum that is customized to the employer’s specific needs. The CSP Training Fund covers 75% of the cost of services, based on the industry standard of $45/hr. of instruction, while employers commit to 25% of the funding. The CSP is funded by the GWB JDF.

To learn more about the CSP’s ability to better equip your business and its employees contact the CSP Employer Liaison Kathy Gray at (401) 941-8353 or email kgray@riadulted.org.

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