There is no doubt that humanity faces unprecedented challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of a stalled global economy, many businesses are finding they must reinvent themselves, and we know that can be daunting. Media Blast & Abrasive was founded in 1977, but really the inception for the company started much earlier than that. We have seen our share of crippling economic uncertainty and lived to tell the tale. With that in mind, here’s our outlook on business during and after COVID-19.
A Short History Lesson
Media Blast & Abrasive’s founder began putting together the foundation of our business during the oil embargo of 1973-1974. During that time,
“Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations.”
– Office of the Historian, Department of the State, United States of America
According to the Census Bureau, just four years after Media Blast & Abrasive was founded the average cost of a home $82,500 and interest rates were 18.45%. As our founder says, “What a great time to be starting a new machinery manufacturing business!” Luckily, he was no stranger to the abrasive blasting industry and he had entrepreneurial experience.
Why do we share these dismal numbers? To remind you that American businesses have had hard times before, and from that perspective, the post-COVID-19 economy is nothing new. It’s our firm belief that, “this, too, shall pass.” The world will recover, and maybe it will be even better than before.
American Business After COVID-19
As American manufacturers and businesses, we can only do the best we can with what we have. First, we must all plan on survival. Many people will ask, “what will you do if the business fails?” At Media Blast®, our response always has been and always will be, “we will not fail.”
Like with any slower economy, COVID-19 provides business owners with perhaps the greatest resource of all – time. Time to address the things we put off until tomorrow because we’re so busy running our businesses. Things like improving the way we conduct business and how to streamline efficiency.
Today at Media Blast & Abrasive, we are using this time to improve products and make them better. Working with what we’ve got is part of the hunkering down that we are all experiencing be it creativity in your kitchen pantry or capital improvements in your company. As people and businesses hold off buying nonessential goods, it becomes important to fix the things that already exist in the market. In anticipation of this trend, we’re preparing to support our customers with top-quality parts to keep our machines functioning across all industries from aerospace and military to automotive and home hobbyists. This is just one reason our loyal customers evaluate our machines and continue to find that Media Blast® Machines offer the best value for dollar on the market.
To Sum It Up
We suspect the world may be heading into a period where everyone considers each dollar they spend. That’s fine by us. We will continue to manufacture top-of-the-line, 100% American-made abrasive blasting cabinets. In fact, we’re going to use this time to develop even better blasting cabinets and add new models that people and companies want to buy. Because after all, “this, too, shall pass.”