Author: cdhembri

For Lauren Rash, it’s the little things that have snarled production at her tent factory here, like the many shades of black Velcro.

Her company, Diamond Brand, just launched a new line of high-end wall tents called the Liminal, thick with vents and fasteners demanded by discerning campers. But that means using lots of Velcro. And that’s a problem, because black Velcro comes in many shades, depending on the type of raw plastic resin used to make it.

Manufacturers around the country have been facing raw material shortages and price hikes throughout the pandemic. Randolph County’s manufacturers are no exception. According to Phil Mintz with the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership, it all traces back to problems in the global supply chain brought on by COVID-19.