Manufacturing
Removing Barriers, Providing Purpose
Masley Enterprises offers the community around them a fresh start, a second chance, and a fulfilling career BY REGINA DONATO LIFE IS HARD. BUT LIFE IS ALSO GOOD. This is the mantra that Donna Masley, president of Masley Enterprises, constantly repeats when you visit her factory on Jessup Street in Wilmington. Founded in the basement of Donna and Frank Masley’s home in 2000, Masley Enterprises is a premier glove designer and manufacturer in the tactical handwear industry, specifically serving the United States military. This is a company that truly understands what it means to be “Made-in-America.” Frank, who passed away in 2016 after a valiant battle with Melanoma cancer, was a three-time Olympian representing the United States in the sport of luge. With his engineering background, years of experience working for W. L. Gore, and master’s degree in business from GoldeyBeacom College, he identified a need by the U.S. Military for tactical gloves that he could fill. His expertise, combined with Donna’s career as 40
a pediatric ICU RN at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, led the couple to grow Masley Enterprises to where it is today. Masley is a Berry Compliant company, which means that all materials and labor from the company are of United States origin. In addition to manufacturing technical handwear for branches of the military, Masley also helps to produce gloves that combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Masley’s sewing operator team is responsible for making the glove’s insulation lining component that will eventually be used by medical professionals handling the Pfizer vaccine, which is housed at extremely low temperatures. When sewing operator Velvet Poindexter—who is an artist herself—was hired in 2015, she was thrilled to find a job “that is catered towards sewing and creativity,” but that also “creates a feeling of purpose.” Se p t e m b er / Oc t o b e r 2021 | DELAWARE BUSINESS
