SMALL BUSINESS BIG IMPACT
A small, woman-owned fabrication business in a South Carolina coastal town is crediting their thriving and expanding business, despite the ongoing global pandemic, to a “game-changing” order from Dominion Energy.
bFIVE40 is a digital printer and fabricator based in Little River, S.C. whose small team of sewers produces custom apparel, advertising signage, and a wide array of other products.
“I found out Dominion Energy was looking for branded face coverings,” says bFIVE40 founder and CEO, Donna Brin. “We sent in some information about our company and we wound up doing a prototype and then the rest is history.”
Upholding the company’s commitment to actively seek out diverse, local suppliers, Dominion Energy placed an order for 60,000 branded face masks and 15,000 branded gators to equip employees across the company’s 16-state footprint with resources to stay safe while continuing operations. It was a volume that far exceeded anything Brin and her team had fulfilled before- and that meant growth.
“It was just remarkable: the most incredible feeling and sense of relief I have ever had,” said Brin. “We needed to buy more equipment and hire more staff.”
While so many small businesses suffered through crippling ripple effects of the coronavirus pandemic, some even forced to close for good, Brin and her employees prospered.
“When COVID hit, we didn’t know where we were going to go,” expressed Brin. “The excitement that came with being able to grow the business through the contract, I mean, that’s what it’s all about and Dominion Energy has become such a key account for bFIVE40.”
For weeks, Brin and her now-expanded team worked around the clock to produce the massive order, with Brin herself driving the completed shipments to delivery sites to ensure the quick turnaround schedule was met without a hitch.
“The most important take away from that experience is that we could do it,” said Brin. “We didn’t give up. Not only did we find a way out; we found Dominion Energy, which changed everything.”
Today, bFIVE40’s face coverings play a critical role in keeping Dominion Energy employees safe and protected, enabling them to keep the lights on and gas flowing to millions of customers all across the country.
