SC Business Shifts to Making Face Shields

By Mike Switzer

Published May 14, 2020 at 5:30 AM EDT

With COVID-19 decimating the cruise industry, our next guest’s Lowcountry company faced a serious dilemma because their main business was designing, manufacturing, and installing cruise ship signage and interiors. But like many other similarly affected businesses, they completely shifted their operations to manufacture something in demand during this crisis; in their case - medical face shields.

Mike Switzer interviews Patrick McNulty, co-owner of The Bourne Group in North Charleston, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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